The Final Journey
by AguaGoddess
Summary: As Ash and co. travel through Sinnoh, they realize that Arceus has awakened, and he's planning to destroy the world.  With the same old group and newly surfaced feelings, can they stop the Pokemon before it is too late?  With Poke/Contest/Ikari.
1. Chapter 1

Congratulations! You made it past my cheesy description! So, welcome to my first Pokemon Story: The Final Journey! This is mainly Adventure and Romance, and, like I said in the description, contains **Pokeshipping, Contestshipping, and Ikarishipping. **It will not have ANY Advanceshipping or Pearlshipping because they make me gag. (Sorry to all you fans out there who support those shippings.) So, before I bore you to death, here starts the story!

But first, a little preview of what's gonna happen….

"Now if you'll excuse me, worthless humans, I have a world to destroy." The evil Pokemon boomed.

"Daydreaming about me again, I see." He flipped his perfect green fringe.

"Why you self-centered…jerk!" _Well so what if I was thinking about him!_

"Paul, what's wrong?" Her angelic face filled with worry.

"Nothing!" I snapped. Her deep blue eyes welled up with tears.

"Wait…..I…..I'm sorry!" But she ran.

"N….no! MISTY!" I fell to my knees in despair. "You CAN'T! Please…don't…."

**Prologue**

There was a massive garden on the outskirts of Canalave City. Not a cheerful and lively garden, however. Dreary. Dark. Dead. The air gets colder as you enter. This garden used to be sunny, with budding flowers and flowing water. But as time passed, the flowers died, the water froze, and even the sunlight failed to illuminate the darkness. In the middle of the garden, there were ruins. Huge chunks of marble were carelessly piled on top of one another. These ruins once stood as proud and tall buildings, but like the sunlight, they vanished. Deep down, a creature restlessly slept. His dreams were tormented by thoughts of despair, turmoil, and a world without life. Slowly, he began to wake. At last, he opened his eyes. Piercing green penetrated the darkness. The creature looked around slowly and narrowed his eyes.

"What have they done?" he roared with frustration. "What has happened?"

His voice harmlessly echoed through the underground chamber. The creature paced the dungeon and raised his arm. A ball of energy formed and images of the lifeless garden appeared. He waved his hand, and the scene changed. A pink catlike creature was shown, giggling and flying aimlessly in the sky.

"What?" He bellowed, outraged. "How could she have left me?"

With a wave of his mighty paw, the holographic image disintegrated.

"Hmhmhmhmhmmmmmmm…" he laughed evilly. "It is time."

**Chapter One**

**Ash POV**

It was a warm, sunny day in Canalave City. I was training for my next gym battle, and Dawn was preparing for her next contest. By their campsite, Brock was making lunch.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" I called.

"Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" My oldest partner released a bolt of neon energy.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!" The penguin Pokemon summoned a monstrous torrent of water and thrust it forward. *BOOM!* The explosion forced Pikachu and Piplup to go flying through the air. When the smoke cleared, they were nowhere to be found! _Oh no…._

"Pikachu! Piplup!" We shouted frantically. Silence.

"We gotta go find them!" I yelled. We quikly abandoned the campsite and entered town. We walked until we reached the outskirts of town.

"They _couldn't _have gone farther than this," Dawn whined. I rolled my eyes. _Why were all girls such…never mind._

"C'mon, guys, they HAVE to be over here," I persisted. I began to run while Dawn and Brock reluctantly followed. I noticed a path coming into view.

"Hey! A garden!" Dawn screamed excitedly . The cheery blunette raced down the path and began to squeal.

"Oh my gosh! It's all so CUTE!" She turned to us with heart-filled eyes. "Guys, come quick!" As the garden came into my view, I could describe it as ANYTHING but "_cute". _The flowers were wilted, the trees were dead, it was creepily dark, and why was it so COLD? The wind didn't blow, and the air was filled with an eerie silence.

"Well that's weird," I observed. I stepped back a few feet. The air was warm and a gentle breeze blew. I walked forward again. Cold.

"Guys, let's just find our Pokemon and get out of here!" Dawn whispered nervously and clung to Brock's arm.

"Oh, now you want to go? I thought it was just so cute!" I heard Brock mutter under his breath. He rolled his eyes. (Well, I _think _he did, you can never really be sure…) We kept walking until Brock halted to a stop.

"Ahhhhh! What is it?" Dawn screamed. Brock pointed forward. I followed his gaze, and was surprised at what I saw. Just a few yards away were mounds and mounds of ruins!

"Wow….." I breathed.

"Wait, what's that?" Dawn pointed to a dark shape with a purple head. It seemed to be very into the ancient designs etched into the aged rock, because it made no sudden movement.

"What…what_ is _that?" I whispered.

"I can't see, it's too dark," Brock complained. He squinted, which was pretty much like saying he closed his eyes.

"Well, whatever it is, let's just ignore it. It could be dangerous," I said firmly. But of course, Dawn, being the overly ditzy and friendly one, skipped right up to the thing.

"Hi!" She said, waving. As the dark shape turned its head slowly, I became face-to-face with my arch-enemy.

"PAUL?"

**A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! So, did you like it? Was it cheesy? Stupid? Pointless? Good? Depressing? Don't worry, the end will NOT be sad, because angsty endings make me cry. I know the preview sounded kinda tragic, but it will all make sense. This first chapter is really short, but it's just an introduction so the next chapters will be longer. I've written about half the story already, but I'm changing it as I go, so tell me what you think! Please R&R!**

**~AguaGoddess**


	2. Arceus

**Hi, everyone! Sorry I didn't update sooner, I had school starting, and I just couldn't find any time. I'll be posting sooner, I hope! Please enjoy Chapter 2.**

_Previously..._

_"Well, whatever it is, let's just ignore it. It could be dangerous," I said firmly. But of course, Dawn, being the overly ditzy and friendly one, skipped right up to the thing._

_"Hi!" She said, waving. As the dark shape turned its head slowly, I became face-to-face with my arch-enemy._

_"PAUL?"_

Paul turned around and raised his eyebrows.

"Yes?" he asked, annoyed. I studied my rival with distaste. He was dressed in all black, and wore a permanent scowl on his face. I turned to Dawn. Even _she_ looked like she wanted to rip his head off.

"Yes?" he asked again.

"Oh, well we were just wondering what you were doing here," I challenged.

"None of your business, losers," he retorted. Dawn lunged for him with balled fists, but was quickly pulled back by Brock.

"Why you-"Dawn strained against Brock's grip. Paul rolled his eyes and turned back around. _That jerk._

"Remember, guys? Your Pokemon?" Brock reminded us. He let Dawn go, and she marched right up to Paul.

"Hey Paul? Have you seen Pikachu or Piplup?" she pleaded.

"No." he continued to study the ruins. My heart dropped. _Where could they be?_

"Well, let's keep going," Dawn said sadly. We continued walking through the ruins.

"Wait, what's that?" Brock stopped. "Do you guys hear that?" We stopped and listened. I could make out a few muffled screams.

"Guys! Guys!" Dawn screamed excitedly. "Listen, the noise is coming from right here!" She was standing over a small pile of ruins. Brock and I followed the sound, and it was definitely coming from the sharp rocks. We began to toss them aside.

"Pika!" I felt a loopy grin appear on my face as my partner jumped into my arms.

"Piplup!" Dawn cried happily as she embraced her own Pokemon.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked. Pikachu rubbed his head.

"Pika pi chu pika chu pika chu pi," Pikachu explained. ("We landed here and then all these rocks fell on top of us.")

"Well, lets go, guys. It's getting late," Brock said. We agreed and headed back for the ruins to see Paul standing there like a statue.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake!

"Whoahhhhhh!" we screamed as we were knocked off our feet and landed hard on the ground. Paul soon joined us and immediately started rubbing his head.

"Paul, are you okay?" Dawn asked worriedly.

"Just get away from me!" Paul insisted, and Dawn retreated with a pout on her face.

"Man, what _was _that?" Brock struggled to get up, only to be knocked down by another violent tremor.

"Ahhhh! It's an earthquake!" Dawn shrieked.

"Troublesome…" Paul muttered under his breath.

"Ummmmmmm, I don't think it's an ea-" I started, but a huge rumble quickly knocked the wind out of me. _This_ _couldn't be an earthquake, I thought. Something just doesn't feel right. _We watched with horror as an earsplitting crack left a massive crevice in the marble floor. In what seemed to happen in slow motion, the floor burst open and a brilliant light filled the garden. The air got warmer, beautiful flowers bloomed, and even the water flowed. But as quickly as it had appeared, the light died and the garden was as cold and dead as ever. All that was left was an intense glow in the middle of the ruins.

"Wha-What is that?" I screamed, struggling to get off the ground.

I studied the glowing ball of light. I could faintly make out a creature inside. The light began to subside, but the creature radiated power. He was a white, doglike creature with a weird yellow "X" design on his back. His eyes were closed, like he was trying to wake up from a _really _long nap. When he opened his blood red eyes, they seemed to pierce through my soul. I felt that he could see every good and bad I'd done.

"No. It can't be," Paul said with horror.

"Ahhhhhh! Is it Godzilla?" Dawn shrieked, running to hide behind Paul. Paul stared in disbelief.

"Godzilla? He's a _monkey._" He scoffed. Dawn came out of hiding.

"Ohhhhh, right! Hehehe….." We smirked at our friend's obliviousness.

"It's some kind of Pokemon," Brock observed. I squinted at the creature. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't think of where I'd seen him before. _Well, at least Paul doesn't know what it is either, I thought victoriously._

"I feared it was him," Paul said shakily.

"What? Who?" I demanded, annoyed that Paul might know who this creature was and I didn't. _Pffft. Paul doesn't know what he's talking about. He-_

"It is Arceus, the Alpha Pokemon," Paul said plainly, interrupting my thoughts. Okay, so he did know. Brock and Dawn crowded around Paul, eager to hear more about this mysterious Pokemon. "It is said that Arceus created the first Pokemon. No one knows who came first, Arceus or Mew," Paul said.

"But I don't understand," I said, confused. "Why is Arceus here? Now?"

Paul rolled his eyes. "Wow, you really _are _dense," he scoffed.

"Arceus and Mew formed the world and everything that inhabits it. Humans _and _Pokemon. After the humans learned how to find food, shelter, and clothing, Arceus saw that his main work was done. He fell into a deep slumber, while Mew stayed to guide humans during the centuries and fix any problems."

"Oh," I said, feeling a bit smarter. "Well, if Arceus has been sleeping for eons, and he's suddenly waking up, something really bad must be happening."

"Really bad," Brock added. As the creature blinked, its deep green eyes cast an almost evil glow in the garden. Finally, the creature spoke.

"Hmmmm, pretty good for just a worthless little human," Arceus gestured to Paul. Paul tried to look all bored, but I could _feel _his fear. I would have made fun of him, but I was pretty scared myself.

"W-who are you?" Dawn asked shakily.

"Oh, but don't you already know?" He boomed. "I am Arceus, the most powerful Pokemon in the world." He finished dramatically. He obviously liked saying that.

"Uh, no offense Arceus, but uh….what are you doing here? Haven't you been asleep for a few centuries?" Brock asked cautiously.

"BECAUSE!" Arceus yelled, outraged. "Look at this garden! Look at me!"

"W….we don't understand," I said, confused.

"I created the whole world. I created you stupid humans, and look what you did to me!"

I looked at the others, who were about as dumbfounded as I was.

"You vile creatures destroyed this world. I give you everything you need, and you banished me to the depths of the earth while you took over this world," Arceus continued.

"W-wait. I thought you fell into a deep, peaceful slumber after you finished creating everything," Dawn said. Arceus' glowing eyes narrowed, and he let out a fierce growl.

"That's what they _want _you to think. I create the world and do everything for them, and then they stab you in the back."

"Technically, didn't Mew create the world too?" Brock muttered. The Alpha Pokemon let out a roar so violent that the ground actually shook. Lightning flashed.

"MEW!" Arceus shrieked. "Don't you DARE mention that horrible little _rat _in my presence. She was probably the one who doomed me to this terrible place. I warned her not to trust the humans, that their only purpose was to work for the Pokemon. But she didn't listen. She wanted to keep them alive for some reason, whatever that was is beyond me. They manipulated her and forced her to do this to me." I looked at Paul, Dawn, and Brock, who just stared with wide eyes.

"Now look at this," Arceus gestured to me in disgust. "The humans are even _training _the Pokemon, when the Pokemon should be training the humans. You say this human is your friend?" Arceus questioned Pikachu, a look of total rage in his eyes. Pikachu nodded.

"Hmm. Well don't believe him, for all he wants is to use you to win more things for himself," Arceus said arrogantly. My blood boiled. How dare he talk about me like that?

"Listen, Arceus!" I shouted. "Pikachu is my _friend! _We work _together!"_ Arceus rolled his dark green eyes.

"Dude, what's your problem?" Paul asked boredly.

"My _problem _is that you humans have wrecked this world!" Paul shrugged. That made me even madder. Didn't he care that our world could be in danger?

"So what are you gonna do?" Paul said monotonously.

"I will simply recruit all the legendaries and we will destroy the world. I will build a whole new world using my incredible power." Wow, this guy had everything. Creativity _and_ modesty. I stared in shock. _He's not serious. He can't be serious. There is no freaking way he could be serious. _Dawn seemed to read my mind.

"You can't just tear down the world," Dawn said.

"I created it, didn't I?" Arceus grinned evilly.

"With the help of Mew," Brock reminded him.

"ARGGGGHHHH!" Arceus bellowed. "She will be the first to taste my wrath." I looked to the others, whose thoughts seemed to be narrowed down to the same two words: NOT GOOD.

"Now if you'll excuse me, worthless humans, I have a world to destroy."

And on that happy note, Arceus vanished into thin air.

**A/N: Yayyyy! I really like where this is going, even though I wasn't sure before. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it! Please R&R!**

**~AguaGoddess**


	3. Paul joins the group

**Okay, I know it's been a while, but I only have ONE computer in this house and since my dad's retirement he ALWAYS hogs it! And I just realized I haven't been doing the disclaimer, so I gotta get into the habit of that!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Ohhhh, if I did...*wiggles fingers and laughs maniacally*...lets not even get into it. Ash would overcome his extreme denseness and realize his love for Misty, May would finally realize that a guy chucking roses at you means that he _likes you, _and Paul and Dawn would live happily ever after. *Sigh*, if only those Japanese producers would return my endless phone calls...JUST KIDDING! I can't speak any Japanese.**

_Previously….._

"_And now if you'll excuse me, worthless humans, I have a world to destroy." _

**Dawn POV**

We stood for a few minutes, unable to speak after what had just happened. Finally, Brock spoke.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked blankly.

"We have to stop Arceus from finding the legendaries!" Ash said excitedly.

"But how?" I asked, "Arceus could be anywhere! We don't have a clue where he's going!"

"But…maybe Mew might!" Brock said.

"But what if Arceus is right? Maybe Mew _is_ behind all of this!" Paul offered.

"There's no way that can be true! We've met Mew a few times, and she would never do something like that!" Ash argued. Brock nodded. I could see why Paul was defending the evil Pokemon. They had a lot in common.

"Well we have to at least try! Arceus destroying the world would be _terrible_." I agreed.

"Meh...I guess." Paul said in that annoyingly bored tone. My fists balled up involuntarily.

"Do you even care about anything?" I screamed. Why was he so difficult?

"The world is in danger and you don't even care!" I continued, getting even madder. Paul blinked, then walked away. My eyes widened. Did he really just LEAVE? I slowly turned around and faced Ash and Brock, who didn't really look surprised.

"Don't worry about it, Dawn. Paul's not worth it," Ash said, saying "Paul" like he had some kind of disease.

"Anyways, we have to focus on what's important. We have to try and find Mew," Ash insisted. I agreed, calming down.

"Uh, guys, you're going to HATE this, but I think if we're going to have any chance of finding Mew, we have to do this," Brock said cautiously.

"What?" I demanded. Brock backed up a little.

"Well….maybe Paul should come _with _us," Brock said.

"WHAT?" We yelled unison. Brock flinched.

"And plus, now that we know what Arceus is planning, it isn't safe traveling around by himself," Brock said.

"I don't care if he DIES!" Ash screamed.

"Ash!" I scolded.

"Please go find him and try to get him to come with us," Brock pleaded.

"Why do _I _have to?" I whined.

"Because you're the one who flipped out on him," Brock said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Fine," I huffed. "But he started it!"

"C'mon, Piplup!" I said. She jumped on my shoulder. I turned towards the woods and slowly trudged towards my personal doom-Paul. As Piplup and I traveled deeper into the forest, I noticed that the eerie coldness was gone. Lush plants and bushes grew.

"Pip lup lup!" Piplup pointed excitedly towards a dark shape a little way ahead. That _had _to be Paul! I quickened my pace and caught up to him.

"Paul! PAUL! STOP!" I screamed, waving my hands in the air wildly. He slowly turned around and looked at me. A shocked look was on his face, which was the most emotion I'd ever seen from him.

"What do you want?" Paul said coldly. So much for emotion.

"You need to come with us, Paul," I said. "It's not safe for you to be traveling alone with Arceus on this rampage. You could get hurt." I continued. He raised his eyebrows, probably wondering why I cared if he got hurt.

"Also, you could help us. We're gonna try and talk to Mew."

"Why would you want me traveling around with you? I thought I "didn't care" about anything." Paul said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry. Really," I said. Paul nodded curtly. I guess that was an apology accepted.

"Please come with us. You'd be really good at…uh….um…" I looked down, embarrassed. I seriously couldn't think of something Paul was _good _at. Except, you know, world's best poker face.

"Oh, I know! You're good at battling! You'd be a big help if we run into something…..you know…..bad!" I stuttered. _Ha. Real convincing._ Paul chuckled. My eyes nearly flew out of my head. Before I could stop myself, my hand flew up to his forehead. I flinched as a shock coursed through my entire body. My heart beat loudly in my chest. _That was weird._ I realized Paul was still standing there, looking for an answer to my actions.

"Uh, is everything alright, Paul?" I asked shakily. He narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"What?" he asked slowly.

"You _laughed_, Paul!" I couldn't keep my serious face on anymore, and burst into laughter. Paul huffed angrily.

"I can _laugh_," he defended himself.

"When? I've never seen you do it!" I giggled, then shut up when I saw his murderous expression. The corners of his mouth twitched up, and soon he was laughing hysterically, me soon following suit. His laughing surprised me. His talking voice was very low and boring, but when he laughed, he seemed almost…._gentle._ Then, suddenly, it seemed Paul remembered who he was, and what he was supposed to act like. He cleared his throat and stopped laughing, his face going back to its usual stoic expression.

"So, please?" I used my best puppy dog face, looking at Paul innocently through my eyelashes. His eyes flickered a moment, a soft, caring look replacing his cold stare. I noticed at that moment how very…..purple his eyes were. They seemed to be full of mystery and secrets. The deep plum shade fit his angular face, and his soft, tousled hair….._WOAH Dawn! Slow down, there. _Paul cleared his throat and I flushed, embarrassed that he caught me staring.

"Fine."

"Yessssssss!" I screamed and flung my arms around him into a hug. His body stiffened, but he slowly patted my back awkwardly. _Never underestimate the power of the puppy dog eyes!_ I suddenly felt very small in his broad frame, and my head was only up to his chest! Paul pulled away, and I was embarassed when I noticed how cold I felt without his arms around me.

"So, shall we go?" Paul said, his face a little flustered. Obviously he hadn't expected my hug. I hadn't really expected it, either.

"Yeah. Let's go!" I said, and turned on my heel and began skipping back to the ruins. I was about halfway there when I realized what had just happened. I had just begged _Paul _to come with us, then _hugged _him, and now I was _smiling _and _skipping!_ _There has to be something wrong with me, _I thought frantically. I wasn't supposed to be happy about this. I was supposed to hate Paul, and he wasn't supposed to have been so….nice back there. But I couldn't help but notice how different he acted. It was like he was a whole different person to everyone else. I wondered if he had ever shown anyone else that side of him. _He should,_ I thought with a smile.

**A/N: Awwwwwwww! I hope all you Ikarishippers enjoyed that little bit. But don't worry, that will be the first of many. You're probably wondering,"Why did she call it a Poke/Contest/Ikari story if Misty, Drew, and May aren't even in the story?" Yet. Very soon. I promise to update quicker, so keep R&R-ing! **

**~AguaGoddess**


	4. Here Comes Team Rocket!

**Hello, everyone! I know it's been a while, but I hope you'll still enjoy this chapter. **

_**Previously...**_

_I wasn't supposed to be happy about this. I was supposed to hate Paul, and he wasn't supposed to be so...friendly back there. But I couldn't help but notice how different he acted. It was like he was a whole different person to everyone else. I wondered if he had ever shown anyone else that side of him. Well he should, I thought with a smile._

**Ash POV**

After Dawn was gone, Brock and I began to plan how we'd get to Mew. We discussed everything: transportation, food, where we could stop and rest,-

"Guys! I found Paul!" Dawn's clear voice rang through the forest. Soon she came into view, Piplup on her shoulder, Paul trailing reluctantly behind. I noticed their flustered faces, and wondered what that was all about. Probably from running all this way.

"So, you're coming?" Brock said hopefully.

"I guess so," Paul answered.

"Well, the sooner the better," I said, "Let's go!"

"So, where are we going?" Dawn asked. I looked at Brock with a look of panic. _Oh NO! _I thought._ We kinda forgot about that little detail._ _Well, I can't let Paul know that. It's bad enough he's coming with us…._But from the look of amusement on Paul's face, I think we were out of luck.

"Lemme guess-you don't know," Paul laughed.

"Well how is it my fault? How am _I _supposed to know where she is?" I fired back. Paul arched an eyebrow.

"Do you know?" I questioned. _Ha. I've got you cornered. See if you can answer tha-_

"Mew lives in the Tree of Beginning, located in north-eastern Kanto. If we want to get there fast, we should take a boat to Goldenrod City in Johto, then take the Magnet Train to Saffron City in Kanto. From there we'll travel north to Cerulean, then head east to Pewter. The Tree of Beginning is between Mount Moon and Pewter City." Paul stated with a smirk. _Okay, so he did know. But still, that doesn't mean he-_

"Ash! How could you have forgotten! We were _at _the Tree of Beginning, remember?" Brock scolded, smacking the back of my head. Dawn giggled, as if I wasn't humiliated enough.

"Well, come on! It's almost morning, and we have to make the next ferry!" Paul said with actually a smidge of enthusiasm.

When we arrived at the docks, we quickly bought tickets and boarded. In a few hours, we were docked in Goldenrod City!

"Alright, let's head for the Magnet Train," Brock said as we left the shipyard. We were strolling the busy streets of Goldenrod when we were stopped by a loud voice.

"Ash! Hey Ash! Wait up!" I whirled around to see a young girl skipping merrily toward us. She had pink hair and a strong-looking Miltank following closely behind.

"Hey, Whitney!" I shouted. Dawn looked at me, puzzled.

"Who's that?" she questioned.

"The Goldenrod Gym Leader. I beat her a long time ago." I said smugly when I noticed Paul raise his eyebrows. _Ha. Beat that, Paul. I'll bet you didn't travel-_

"Oh, yeah. I battled her when I traveled through Johto," Paul said simply. I bowed my head in defeat. _Was there anything he _hadn't _done? _

"Look! Look! The Magnet Train!" Dawn yelled enthusiastically, pointing forward. We hurried towards the huge building and bought our tickets and boarded. About an hour later, we were in Kanto! I practically jumped off the train as soon as we stopped. I twirled in a circle and inhaled the fresh, sweet breeze of Kanto. _Home sweet home._ I left my little happy moment to find Paul gaping at me with an amused face.

"Dude, that was gay," Paul smirked, shaking his head in disbelief. I looked at them in confusion.

"What?" I demanded.

"You just _spun _around in a circle, then _inhaled _the frickin air!" he said with wide, laughing eyes.

"Seriously? I…uh….Brock?" I looked to Brock.

"Uh, Ash, that really was gay," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. I looked hopelessly at Dawn, who was just being, well, Dawn. She was looking innocently up at the sky, a dazed smile on her bright face. I shook my head hopelessly. _I'd have better luck with a cucumber. _

"Let's just go," I huffed and pushed past them, mumbling incoherent things. _Why did I agree to let Paul come with us again? _

"Well, it's almost nighttime. We should start for Cerulean City, then find somewhere to sleep." Brock said. We agreed and headed north from Saffron.

We were about halfway through Route 5 when we heard a strange whizzing sound. We looked behind us to see a giant cat face of some sort emerging from the silhouetted treetops.

"Oh, no," Brock said, exasperated. I looked around frantically.

"What?" I said.

"Like we need another group of creepy stalkers threatening us," he muttered, still not answering my question.

"What? What?" Dawn shrieked, taking cover behind Brock.

"Hmph, scaredy cat!" Paul grumbled. Dawn's eyes were on fire as she stomped up to him.

"What did you call me?" she screamed.

"Hmmmm, troublesome has a bit of an attitude," Paul said calmly, his dark eyes glittering with amusement.

"You-" Dawn started.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"Ugggggghhhhhh!" I moaned as I finally realized what the face was. As the Meowth balloon came closer, I could clearly make out none other than our favorite bad guys in the basket: Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"To protect the world from devastation….."

"To unite all peoples within our nation..."

"Do they ever give up?" Brock complained.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love…."

"What does denounce even _mean?"_ I asked to no one in particular.

"To extend our rea-"

-"Noooo! That is SO not true! I do _not_ do that, right guys?" Dawn's voice drowned out Team Rocket and she looked at us expectantly, as if we were supposed to be paying attention to their useless banter.

"Dawn, I don't even want to know…" I started.

"Hey, listen, kid!" Jessie screamed in outrage. The balloon landed on the ground with a soft _thump._

"No one interrupts Team Rocket!" she screamed in outrage. She hopped out of the balloon and landed gracefully on the ground, a devious smirk planted on her fair face.

"Uh, no offense Jessie, but there's just no point. The Team Rocket motto has just lost its ring," James, obviously the calmer one said blandly, flicking an imaginary piece of dirt off his uniform.

"And besides, they probably know it better than we do by now." Jessie looked about ready to rip out the man's insides and cook them for dinner, but then stopped, as if she'd just remembered something.

"I guess," she shrugged. "But we're still going to capture Pikachu!"

"Oh, will you lay off already?" I shouted, exasperated.

"No." James said simply.

"Oh, and why did you just up and leave Sinnoh all of a sudden? Do you know how long it took us to figure out where you were?" Jessie questioned madly.

"Well, maybe if you weren't such mindless idiots that followed us around even after failing countless times, you wouldn't have that problem!" Paul shot back coldly. James fell to the ground and began to sob loudly. I looked at the others with incredulity.

"Now look at what you did," Jessie scolded Paul. She bent down and tried to console the crying man.

"He's been…..overemotional for a while now. I think all our failures are just really getting to him," Jessie said, her royal blue eyes filled with worry.

"I am beautiful…...*sob*…no matter what they say….." James whimpered, tears streaming down his face.

"N..no James. You're fine. It's ok-" Jessie tried to calm him down.

"WORDS CAN'T BRING ME DOWWWWNNNNNNN!" he wailed in despair.

"Oh could you stop it with the Christina Aguilera?" Jessie said firmly. He looked up at her with big, heartbroken eyes.

"Ughhhhhhh…I didn't mean it. It's okay…." I tuned them out as Paul approached me.

"Another Christina fan? I think I've found you your gay soul mate, Ash," Paul joked. I huffed angrily, knowing he was never gonna let me live it down. I knew I shouldn't have shown Paul my iPod playlist on the train. Okay, it was ONE SONG!

"You still haven't answered my question," Jessie turned away from James and demanded, as though _we _were the ones invading _their _personal lives.

"We're going to see Mew," Brock said.

"Why?" James, who had apparently recovered from his anxiety attack, prodded. "She would never join one of your teams."

"We just want to talk to her," Dawn spoke up.

"Yeah," Paul agreed. Jessie looked at him skeptically.

"What are _you _doing here?" she said with disgust.

"Is he your boyfriend?" James smiled, his celadon green eyes twinkling.

"NO! NO!" Dawn screamed, her pale cheeks turning to a dark maroon. I glanced at Paul, who looked about ready to faint from embarrassment, his face an alarming shade of red. _Hmmmm….I've finally found something that makes him squirm. This could be useful in the future…_I though triumphantly.

"N-no," Paul managed to choke out. "I'm just traveling with them for a while." Jessie shrugged.

"Well, enough small talk. It's time to capture Pikachu," she smirked. The redhead whipped out a remote control with a big red button.

"A net?" I guessed. "Really?"

"Maybe," Jessie confessed.

"Won't do anything. Pikachu can just fry it," I said.

"Nope! This net is insulated, right James?" Jessie turned to James, laughing giddily. James froze, his eyes wide with fear. He slouched to the ground and began another round of sobs and wails. Jessie rolled her eyes and began to condole him again.

"Please don't electrocute us, we'll do anything," Jessie pleaded as she rubbed James' arm comfortingly. I glanced at the group. Dawn had her hands on her heart and a sympathetic look on her face, Paul was overlooking the scene with disgust, and Brock was eyeing me with a look that told me we were thinking the same thing. I nodded in agreement.

"Take us with you." Their mouths dropped open, James emotional fit long gone.

"B-but," James stuttered.

"Pikachu…." I warned. They immediately turned around and began to discuss.

*whisper…whisperwhisper….-*

-"MEOWTH THAT'S RIGHT!" an exuberant Meowth hopped out of the balloon and landed on Jessie and James' shoulders.

"Meowth, uh, you're a little late!" Jessie hissed angrily. Meowth folded his arms across his chest.

"Ten bucks a day, one lousy piece o' bread, an' I don't even get to finish da stinkin' motto!" he sighed dramatically.

"That is one sorry excuse for a Brooklyn accent," Paul accused.

"Now listen here, you lousy oild piece of-" Meowth lunged towards Paul, his claws unsheathed.

-"Meowth!" Jessie quickly grabbed and pulled him back, the cream-colored cat still cursing under his breath.

"What? Why din't you let me ruin that poifect lil' face of his? And why aren't we capturing Pikachu?" Meowth demanded, fighting against Jessie's death grip.

"We've had," Jessie glanced warily at us, "er….a change of plans." Meowth was baffled.

"What's dis cha-" James quickly pulled him away and they began another secret conference.

*whisperwhisper…"YOU WHAT?" Meowth screamed in outrage. *slashslash*

"OWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEE!" Jessie and James' pain-filled screams echoed through the forest. They turned around, fake smiles plastered on their faces, which were now covered with vibrant red scratch marks. Meowth slowly approached us, a grimace on his cat-like features.

"Welcome aboard."

**Oooooh I just loved this chapter. Hopefully it'll make up for my slow update... Yes, I hereby give you permission to borrow Misty's mallet and pound me on the head with it. Speaking of Misty, she'll be appearing soon! Also, are there any iCarly fans out there? You'd better be excited for iStart a Fan War on November 19th! I saw on someone's fanfiction page that Seddie fans are going to wear purple on the premiere day, so do it! Wear purple on November 19, so that Seddie will rule the world! DO IT. You know you want to. Okay, that is all. Please R&R, just a simple review or alert makes my day!**

**~Aqua**


	5. The Tree of Beginning

**Yay! I updated earlier this time! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or, unfortunately, the BlackBerry phones. **

_Previously…._

_Meowth slowly approached us, a grimace on his cat-like features._

"_Welcome aboard."_

**Ash POV**

The balloon was nicer than I'd expected, actually. There were makeshift beds in one corner, a pot over a fire for cooking, and the engine in the middle.

"We're making soup," James said, and knelt down to stir something that was brewing in the pot. We set our backpacks on the basket floor and sat down. We started heading north towards the Tree of Beginning after we'd told them were we were headed. Meowth joined us and began to groom his fur.

"Ya know, I'm kind of glad you're here, even though we're supposed to be enemies," Meowth said.

"Why?" Brock questioned.

"Well, I've bin kinda lonely, ya know, now dat Jess and Jimmy are together," Meowth said with a sigh.

"WHAT?" we yelled in horror. Even Paul looked surprised!

"As in, like, boyfriend and girlfriend?" Dawn spluttered.

"Yeah," Meowth nodded sadly. I might've felt bad for him, if I wasn't so creeped out!

"B-But I thought he was GAY!" I screamed.

"We all did," Meowth agreed. Paul patted my arm in mock comfort.

"Well, maybe this relationship didn't work out, but there's plenty of other guys out there," he chuckled, Dawn joining him in laughter. I gave them the death glare, which caused Dawn to immediately stop, but had no such effect on Paul. We looked over at the "couple," and sure enough, they were steering the balloon while holding hands and giggling.

"Hey guys, how close are we to da Tree of Beginning?" Meowth asked. No response.

"Guys?" Whatever they were discussing, they must have been into it.

"Ya guys!" Meowth screamed, whipping out his claws. Jessie and James turned their heads.

"What?" they asked, annoyed. Meowth looked hurt.

"How close are we?" he said softly. Jessie pointed forward. We all scrambled to our feet and looked for what he was gesturing to. If I squinted, I could fairly make out a massive green tree in the distance- the Tree of Beginning!

"We'll be there in about half and hour," James said as he brought over seven steaming bowls of soup. I hungrily dug in, and it surprisingly wasn't all that bad!

"Who made the soup?" I said between gulps, so it actually sounded like, "foo mate du shooop?"

"I did," James said proudly.

"Of course he did," Paul muttered under his breath.

"Well," Paul started, "Maybe if you ever decide to quit that hellhole you call a job, then you might be able to get a decent cooking job." We all stared at Paul with murderous expressions, then reluctantly turned to James, expecting him to burst into tears. Surprisingly, his green eyes were filled with a dreamy faraway look, and a giddy grin spread across his face.

"Actually, my dream is to be a fashion designer!" he announced, his eyes sparkling.

"Big shocker," Paul mumbled.

"Yep! We're going to be the greatest designers the world has ever known," Jessie agreed, squeezing his hand lovingly. Paul stuck his finger in his mouth and made gagging noises.

"Here they go again…." Meowth complained.

"I heard that!" James yelled. He gasped as though a great thought occurred to him.

"Meowth! You could be our personal stylist! And you could even be our little mannequin, you know, try on all our designs and such..." James babbled on.

"As long as dere's sometin' in it for Meowth!" the cat grumbled. I studied the joyful man with disbelief.

"Are you _sure _you're not gay?" I demanded before I could stop myself.

"Poor Ash," Paul sobbed mockingly. "He was so sure James would be the one…*hic*…he's even going into denial…it's s-so…..touching…" he continued until he started another round of fake sobs. By now, Dawn and Brock were rolling on the floor cackling at Paul's crude humor. Even Jessie and James had to crack a smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, you guys! I mean, look at him! He has _purple hair_! How much more gay can you get?" I screamed.

"Actually, it's periwinkle," James stated matter-of-factly, running his hands through his "periwinkle" hair. I looked helplessly at Paul, Dawn, and Brock, who stared back with perplexed faces.

"Oh, now you decide to play stupid," I said, exasperated. Dawn's head shot up.

"What?" she said worriedly.

"Nothing," I waved my hand dismissively, and resumed back to eating my soup.

"So why are you trying to find Mew?" Meowth questioned. I silently thanked him for changing the subject.

"We need her help. Arceus has awakened, and he's all mad because the humans have taken over the world or something, so his solution is to just completely destroy the world and build a new one," Brock explained.

"Mew and Arceus created the world, so we hope she will know what to do," Dawn added. Team Rocket nodded, like crazed psycho Pokemon destroying the world was an everyday occurrence.

"Speaking of the Tree, there it is now!" Jessie rose to her feet and began to steer the balloon towards the ground. We scrambled to our feet and strained to see the ancient Tree. As we neared the ground, the majestic Tree came into view. It stood tall and mighty against a pale blue sky, its lush green leaves seeming to stretch out for miles. Although I'd seen it before, I was awed. There was really nothing else like it. As soon as the basket came in contact with the ground, Dawn, Paul, Brock and I stood up and were about to disembark, but Meowth stopped us. He leaned in close and motioned for us to do the same.

"Er, do ya think dat maybe I can go wit you guys? Please? I'm sick of dem excluding me," the cat pleaded. Compassion filled Brock's face, and he looked at us for reassurance.

"We'd love for you to come, and you'd be a great translator if we're talking to wild Pokemon," Brock started, his voice uneasy. "But, er, I don't think we should leave _those two_ alone, if you know what I'm saying." Brock gestured to the couple, and as if to prove his point, they were giggling and whispering things in each other's ears.

"But…..what would they do?" Dawn questioned, her face genuinely puzzled. Brock, Paul, and I looked at each other slowly and laughed nervously.

"Idiotic girl," Paul muttered. "Even _Ash_ gets it!"

"Hey, thanks!" I said. Then I realized the hidden meaning of Paul's remark. "Wait…HEY!" Brock rolled his eyes.

"You guys, could you stop the bickering for a while? We gotta get a move on," Brock pressed. With final glares at Paul, Dawn and I agreed with Brock. We said goodbye to Jessie and James, who I could tell just couldn't wait for us to leave. Brock must have seen this also, because I noticed him sharing a knowing glance with Meowth, who nodded half-enthusiastically.

With one last glance at our temporary allies, we started towards the massive trunk of the Tree. A jagged hole was the entrance, which I easily slipped through and the others followed. As I entered the tree, I was immediately engulfed in light. Everything was so _bright. _We gaped blindly up at the ceiling, which was barely visible. Right in front of us was a translucent bridge made of a crystal-like material. It lead up to an entrance in the side of the Tree, where another bridge went to an opening on the other side, and another to the other side, and another, and another….. There were seven bridges in all, and at the top there was one single entrance right smack in the middle of the massive trunk.

"If I remember correctly, all those side entrances just lead to random tunnels and forests. Mew's lives in the top," Brock's voice rang through the silence.

"So how do we get up there?" Dawn questioned.

"We climb," Paul said simply. Dawn's panicked eyes nearly left her head.

"_WHAT?"_ she shrieked. "I can't climb all the way _up there!_" Dawn jabbed her finger toward the ceiling in protest.

"You can. And you WILL," said Paul flatly.

"Oh, you guys are such wimps," I declared. I, for one, was up for the adventure, and the chance at beating Paul at something. I eagerly marched over to the crystal structure and began to climb. Paul followed, but it took Dawn a lot more convincing.

Five bridges and two Dawn temper tantrums later, I was seriously doubting my fearless behavior just a few minutes ago. I looked down, and instantly regretted it as my stomach swam and my eyesight became blurry. It was…a long way down.

I breathed in and out slowly and was almost calmed down when Dawn let out an ear shattering scream. I whipped my head around and the scene before me almost caused me to lose my grip and fall myself. Dawn was dangling from the bridge, holding on to dear life with just her arms keeping her from plunging to the ground hundreds of feet below. Her face was scrunched up and she was holding tightly, but I knew she couldn't hold forever. I was in front of Brock, but he was too far ahead as well. Paul was the only one who could save her.

"Paul, you need to-" I said as loud as I could without losing my balance.

"Torterra, Vine Whip my waist!" Paul had his pokeball out and had thrown it into the air so fast I barely knew what had happened. At the speed of light, it seemed, the massive treelike Pokemon emerged out of its pokeball and had wrapped its sturdy vines around Paul's torso. He quickly scrambled towards Dawn.

"I'm slipping!" she cried.

"Don't!" Paul ordered. Within seconds he had reached the blunette and had grasped her hand.

"Hold on!" he shouted. She could do nothing but nod with fear. He quickly lurched backward and pulled Dawn easily with him.

They sat for a few moments, panting and trying to catch their breath and balance. I noticed with a smirk that Dawn's hand was still intertwined tightly with Paul's, but Paul made no move to remove it. Hmmm…I'd definitely have to confront him about this later.

"T-thank you, Paul," Dawn stuttered breathlessly. "For saving my life."

"Troublesome," Paul smirked. Dawn looked about to retort, but then just smiled and shook her head. I guess she was right, I mean, she did kinda owe it to him. The two must have suddenly realized that they were still holding hands, because a look of terror and….what was it….a blush?…..filled Paul's face as he jerked his hand away. _Blackmail, here I come._

After that little incident, we managed to make it up to the top without any other major problems. We entered the last hole, and were forced to adjust our eyes to the darkness, which contrasted with the light-filled place we just exited. When my eyes focused, I could see little specs of light and a lot of light further away. We were in a long and narrow dirt tunnel. Little blue clusters of crystal poked out of the walls and ceiling. **(A/N: Think of the tunnel in the Lucario and the Mystery of Mew movie where they all got swallowed by those jelly-ish thingies.)**

"Wow…" Dawn breathed in amazement.

"That light up there has got to be where Mew is," I said. "Let's go!" We ran the rest of the way and through the opening.

"WOAHHH!" we all said, as we were engulfed in light again. We were standing on a grassy ledge in a huge forest that seemed to go on forever in all directions. To our right crystal clear water cascaded over a waterfall into a blue river that weaved through the whole place. Little patches of land were everywhere there wasn't water, and from them sprouted plentiful berry trees. There were Goldeen in the water, Aipom in the trees, Espeon sunbathing at the water's edge- Every type of Pokemon lived in this tropical paradise.

"Hey, look at those two Ponyta fighting," I observed to the group. Brock, Dawn, and Paul looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Umm, Ash-"*splutter*-…."They're not fighting," Brock said, his voice quivering with laughter.

"What?" I demanded. Was this some kind of inside joke? "Then what are they-" I was forced to look away from the Ponyta's "activities" as I realized with disgust what they were doing.

"Oh…" was all I could say. Dawn and Paul were shaking their heads in amusement, but Brock finally found the decency to help me out.

"Well, we should try to find Mew." he changed the subject.

"MEW!"

"MEW!" we shouted.

"Wait, what's that?" Dawn pointed to a little flash of pink flitting through the sky.

"That's got to be Mew!" I said triumphantly. "MEW!" we screamed. The figure came closer so I could see its catlike features.

"Ice cream! Ice cream!" Mew yelled in a sweet voice. She approached us and I could see her clearly now, the excitement in her baby blue eyes. The pink Pokemon had the ears, face, and body of a cat, a round nose, and big floppy feet. Her tail swung carelessly in the air while her body stayed still, like it had a mind of its own.

"Ice cre-wait, you're not the ice cream man!" Mew said, her head cocked to the side.

"Uh, no," I said, baffled. "We came to talk-"

"Oh, you're just that kid who saved the world like ten times," she interrupted, disappointed.

"Twelve," I corrected, "But anyways, we have to ask….Mew? MEW?" Mew began to do flips in the air, totally disregarding all of us.

"Mew!" I shouted. I kind of understood Arceus's problem- she had the attention span OF A SQUIRREL!

"What?" she stopped, annoyed.

"We need to talk to you," Paul said urgently, obviously as aggravated as I was, "The-"

"HEY!" Mew cried at me, looking around frantically. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"What?" we screamed.

"Ash could _never_ get a girlfriend!" Paul's voice broke through the peaceful atmosphere and startled a few Pokemon. I shot him a glare.

"What 'girlfriend'? I asked, although I had a pretty good idea exactly who she was talking about.

"You know, the one who was traveling with you last time," she said impatiently.

"May?" I said with horror. _Well, May's a great friend and all, but she's just…..not right. Way too young._

"No, no, May had her eyes on that snotty grasshead. Uhhh…you know…the one who was with you a long time ago…when I was fighting with Mewtwo," she said. I was almost certain I knew, but I decided to just act innocent and maybe she'd give up. I looked at Paul, who looked like he could care less, but was secretly interested. Dawn was waiting eagerly, and I knew she'd have a string of questions later. But then I saw Brock, and the knowing smirk he was giving me said that if I didn't spill, he would, and with a _lot_ more details.

"Ooooh! The redhead!" Mew remembered.

Yep, my guess was proved correct. Misty.

I felt a pang of guilt and…..something else….overcome me as I remembered my best friend. I recalled the day we had to split up as one of the worst of my life. I had left someone so special to me…a person who I could tell anything to-regardless of whether she'd pound me with her mallet or not. I'd promised to keep in touch, but I was just so busy with my journey, I rarely called. I thought of all of my closest friends and family, and how all their lives would be in danger. I reached into my pocket and felt the soft, worn cloth of the handkerchief Misty had given me so long ago. If I never saw her again, I'd always have this little piece of her. A horrible feeling of pain shook me when I even thought of never seeing her again. _I'll find you, Misty. There's no way I'm letting Arceus take you. _

Suddenly, Dawn's squeals brought me out of my thoughts.

"You had a GIRLFRIEND?" she said dreamily. Millions of hearts filled her eyes. I shook my head aggressively.

"She's NOT my girlfriend," I said firmly. Why did _everyone_ say that?

"Oh, so she was before," Dawn concluded. Brock snorted with laughter.

"NO!" I screamed. "Mew, listen to us, this is serious." I attempted to change the subject.

Mew huffed.

"Fine," she agreed. "But make it quick, because the ice cream man should be here any minu-"

"Listen," Paul interjected coldly. "Arceus has awakened. He's angry, and he's gonna rip apart the universe because _you_ supposedly led the humans to wreck the world."

A serious aura replaced Mew's playful one immediately.

"He's traveling around the Pokemon world, convincing the legendaries to join him in destroying the world. And, more importantly, you." I finished. Mew gasped.

"That's terrible! We have to do something!" she said. We inched a bit closer with anticipation.

"Aannnnnnnd…what would that be?" Dawn coaxed slowly. Mew scratched her head thoughtfully and looked around.

"…..I don't know." We all groaned at the DNA Pokemon's ignorance.

"Well, could you hurry it up? It's kind of urgent, if you didn't notice," Paul snapped. Mew glared at him through her not-so-innocent-anymore blue eyes.

"Listen, kid, I could just blast you off to Arceus right now if you're that impatient," Mew said with such ferocity that Paul visibly jumped. I bit back my laughter.

"Hmmm…maybe we could…...no, that wouldn't work…uh…well…maybe….er…..I GOT IT!" Mew cried happily.

"What?" we shouted excitedly.

"It'll be very difficult, but it's the only solution. We have to fight back," Mew continued.

"Huh?" I said, perplexed.

"Well, we need to find the remaining legendaries that Arceus hasn't convinced yet, hopefully that will still be most of them. We will convince them to join _our _side, and when the time comes, we will face each other in a perilous battle." The forest was silent as we absorbed the shocking information.

"So, who's going to be doing all of this?" Dawn questioned.

"Us," Mew answered. "Well actually, you."

"What? Paul outbursted.

"I'm up to it," I said confidently. If it was a battle Arceus wanted, I wasn't going down without a fight.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Me too!" Dawn said enthusiastically.

"Count me in," Brock said. I smiled. My friends would always stay by my side, no matter what kind of evil we were up against. And speaking of the most evil, hideous being on the planet, we all turned expectantly to Paul.

"You're coming, right?" Dawn said. Paul snorted laughingly.

"Travel around with _you _people?" he scoffed. "I'd rather-"

"You will go with them," Mew said dangerously, her eyes filled with smoldering blue flames._ Please burn his face off. PLEASE. _

"Okay," Paul squeaked.

"So! I suggest you find some more people to help you guys, then you should split into little groups. Once you find a legendary, send them here. Once we have found each and every one, we will begin training," Mew explained cheerily.

"Mood swings much?" Paul mumbled under his breath. She shot him another dagger.

"Well, how do we know which Pokemon to find? What if Arceus has already claimed someone and we don't know about it?" Dawn said.

"I'll be keeping a close watch on them-and Arceus," Mew said. With a wave of her hand, a clear holographic image appeared in the middle of the air. It showed Arceus, flying alongside Palkia. Mew groaned.

"He's moving quicker than I thought. He's already got Palkia," Mew said angrily. She snapped her fingers, and a clipboard appeared. There were two columns, one titled Arceus and the other Mew. She snapped her fingers again, and Palkia's name appeared under Arceus, and Regice, Registeel, and Regirock's names were in the Mew column.

"Why are the Regi's there?" Brock wondered aloud.

"The three Regis are the guardians of this Tree, therefore, they are on _my_ side," Mew said proudly.

"Oh yeah, they tried to kill me," I remembered.

"Yeah, yeah," Brock agreed.

"So, what are we even supposed to say to a Legendary?" Dawn asked. "Like, 'Oh hey, we're just some random teenagers that want you to turn against your own creator and father and join us."

Mew grinned, shaking her head.

"Just tell them what you know. And I doubt they will refuse when they hear Arceus plans to destroy the world. And tell them that their mother is in charge, and they should listen to her if they know what's good for them," Mew said so seriously I almost laughed.

"And if they want their allowance," Mew added with a smirk.

"Just do your best. We _will _stop Arceus. And you all will be heroes," she said it so confidently that I almost believed her.

"Oh, before I forget," Mew started. She flew over to a massive hollow tree trunk that was overflowing with little music boxes and other toys. She began rummaging loudly and finally emerged from the junk pile with a few objects in her little pink paws. She handed each of us ten small, pink lumps of plastic-a cell phone. A light pink flip phone that was a replica of Mew's face, complete with ears, bright blue eyes, and a smirking mouth.

There was _no_ way I was going to carry this around with me. I had already been stripped of most of my manly pride-thanks to Paul, and I thoroughly intended to keep what was left of it. I saw Paul, whose horrified look made this a little better. At least Dawn loved it.

"These are just _so _cute!" she squealed. We tried to ignore her as Paul tried to reason with Mew.

"Why not give us at _least _a BlackBerry, instead of this…dinosaur!" he complained.

Mew shrugged.

"The BlackBerry doesn't do what this phone can. It's a Mew-Phone," she said, as if that would make us more accommodated to the girly piece of junk. "All you have to do is press the Dial button, state who you want to see-it must be their full name, and you will instantly be able to video chat with them on the screen! The extra phones are for any other people that decide to join you." she explained. Us guys nodded innocently, but we had other plans. I locked eyes with Brock and Paul, and I could tell we had a silent agreement: as soon as the balloon was up in the air, the Mew-Phones were going right over the edge of the basket.

"Also, you might need this. But it's for _emergency use only, _okay?" Mew handed us each 200 dollars. I was speechless. How stupid was she to trust a bunch of _teenagers_ with almost a thousand bucks altogether? I grinned cheekily at the others, but put on a serious face when Mew eyed me suspiciously.

"Alright, you guys. I have to have a serious talk with the ice cream delivery service, so you'll have to leave. My ice cream was supposed to be here over half an hour ago!" Mew said angrily. We left right away because we caught a bit of the stuff she was saying to the ice cream guy, and let me tell you, I would have _hated _to be on the other end of _that_ conversation. We passed by the two Ponyta, who were still going at it.

"Get a room!" I screamed while trying to shield my eyes. Dawn, Paul, and Brock just laughed and kept going.

Once we were back in the trunk of the Tree, we used our Pokemon to get to the ground quicker. (Why we didn't think to do that on the way _up_ is beyond me…..)

When we exited the tree we saw an interesting sight. Meowth was curled up on the edge of the basket, his eyes squeezed shut and his ears plugged.

"Uh….Jessie? James?" I called. The couple emerged from the floor, their hair tousled and their faces beet red.

"Meowth!" Brock hissed. "I told you to make sure they _didn't _do that!"

"I'm sorry, I tried!" Meowth wailed. He leaned closer. "But dey just kept goin!" he whispered in terror.

"Wait, were they-" I trailed off. Paul nodded with a grimace.

"Oh, come on! I've already seen enough of _that _today!" I said.

"Team Rocket! Get the engine going. We gotta go," Paul ordered.

"Where? What's going on?" Jessie demanded. We explained what was going on.

"We want to help!" Jessie said enthusiastically. I eyed them suspiciously.

"What makes you think we should trust you?" Paul inquired.

"Well, we can't just let the world be destroyed. There'd be no one left to steal from," James said simply. **(A/N: Okay, I know I stole that from Pokemon the Movie: 2000, but it just came to mind, and it fit perfectly!)**

I looked at the others, and they nodded their heads in agreement.

"Alright," I said. "But one wrong move and Pikachu sends you flying back to Sinnoh!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked dangerously.

"Deal," Meowth said, glancing warily at Pikachu.

"Well, where to first?" Dawn questioned.

"Why don't we try Zapdos? He lives in the Power Plant, which is just a short distance away from Cerulean City," Brock suggested.

"Where could we go?" James said.

"Uh, maybe to the Seafoam Islands to get Articuno," I said.

"Yes! Yes!" Jessie cried happily. "James, I hear the Seafoam Islands are REALLY romantic."

I didn't understand how _anyone _could think frostbite and avalanches were romantic, but I just decided to keep my mouth shut. Brock gave Jessie and James Mew-Phones and showed them how to use them. Paul and I couldn't contain our laughter when we saw Jessie _and _James fawning over the 'cute' little phones. I cleared my throat.

"So it's settled," I announced. "Team Rocket will go to the Seafoam Islands, and you can drop us off in Cerulean City."

We sat in silence after Brock, Paul, and I had successfully chucked our phones into the starry night without more than a raised eyebrow from Dawn.

We saw the lights first. Cerulean City looked even cooler in the nighttime than in the daytime, and the balloon gave us a perfect overhead view of the twinkling lights in the night sky. We gathered our things as the balloon veered toward the ground.

"Good luck, twerps," Jessie smirked.

"You too," I said, ignoring the 'twerp' part. We hopped out of the basket and watched as the enormous Meowth face fade into the black night.

And then it hit us that we were alone, and left with nothing more than eight hundred dollars, the knowledge that our world was about to be destroyed, and eight little plastic phones.

**Ooooooohhhh! They're in Cerulean City! And do you know what that means? MISTY! Yes, Misty will appear in the next chapter so I'll probably have it up pretty fast, since I love the next chapter and can't wait to type it! Yeah, that mention of Misty up there was my lame attempt at foreshadowing. And if you're wondering, that 'snotty grasshead' is Drew, if you weren't sure. I feel accomplished, I just read Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian in less than one day! I hope my description of the Tree of Beginning was realistic, I haven't seen that movie in a couple years. I'm also hoping to write a little Christmas oneshot, involving Ash, Misty, and some mistletoe. Have any ideas for it? Please R&R!**

**~Aqua**


	6. Misty!

**Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoy Chapter 6 of the Final Journey!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I owned Pokemon, do you think I'd still be here? I'd be in Japan, in my office, snacking on sushi, whacking Pearlshippers and Advanceshippers with a stick. Yeah...I'm very passionate about my shippings.**

**Ash POV**

We had a rough night of sleeping on park benches on the outskirts of the city. As soon as the sun began to peek over the pink horizon, we were up-and _very _hungry.

"Must…have food…." I moaned as I moped around our makeshift campsite.

"Ash! The sooner we pack up and head out of here, the sooner we can eat! So help us!" Brock scolded sternly. I rolled up my sleeping bag and packed the rest of my things. I sat with Pikachu, Paul, and Brock as Dawn struggled to fold up her tent.

"Dawn, I don't think you're gonna be able to keep that tent if we're on the move so much," I said. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"There is _no_ way I'm sleeping out in the wilderness with all these scary Pokemon. And besides, it usually doesn't take this long, but there's something stuck-"

Something snapped in the tent, and Dawn went careening backwards.

Paul huffed in exasperation and marched over to the fallen blunette. In one swift movement, he had the tent fixed and neatly packed in its sack. He shot her a disapproving glare and silently rejoined us.

Dawn's lips formed a small pout as she rose from the ground and began wiping dirt off her dress.

"Well, are we ready?" I said, having gotten bored of Dawn and Paul's nonstop fighting.

"Yeah," Dawn said, scowling at Paul.

We entered the city and immediately noticed something was up. The usually crowded streets were almost empty. The little shops that lined either side of the street were open, but few shoppers occupied them.

"It's mid-morning on a Saturday. This place should be a madhouse," Paul observed. I nodded in agreement. I managed to find a pedestrian who looked friendly enough.

"Excuse me, sir, do you know what's going on? Why are the streets empty?" I questioned. He looked at us with disbelief.

"Well don't you know? The Sensational Sisters are putting on their first water show in _years._"

"So?" Paul said boredly.

"This isn't just any show," the man continued. "There's a new lead. She supposedly had to fill in for the other girl, who had a major injury or something."

My heart skipped a beat as I realized who that must be. All I knew is: I _had _to get into that show.

We thanked the kind man and kept walking.

"Guys, we should go to the show," I said casually. Dawn looked interested, and Paul looked like he could care less. Luckily, Brock saved the day.

"YESSSS! We have to go, you guys. Daisy, Violet, and Lily will be performing," Brock begged.

"You still have that huge crush on those three?" Dawn teased. Brock grinned dreamily.

"They're the most gorgeous, talented girls I've ever seen," he sighed.

"Same as every other girl you meet," Paul muttered.

"Please?" I pleaded. Paul turned to stare at me.

"Why do _you _want to go?" he scoffed. _Uh-oh._

"Uh….I just…haven't been there in a while…and…er…I..just want to check out their Pokemon," I lied. Paul gave me a suspicious look, but then just shrugged. I thought I'd gotten away with it, but then I saw Brock. I might have fooled Dawn and Paul, but Brock _knew_ me. I gave him a look that told him to keep his smirking mouth shut, and then turned away, embarrassed.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Brock said enthusiastically. I smiled to myself as we made our way to the Cerulean Gym.

As we approached, we were faced with a line that nearly went the whole way down the street.

"How are we gonna get past this?" Dawn complained. I looked around frantically for anyone that could help us. Finally, I found a security guard.

"Hey, can you let us through? We're close friends of the performers," I said confidently.

"No can do, kid. Unless you have special passes or your name's on this list, I'm gonna have to send you back-" The guard stopped suddenly and gasped as though he'd just seen me for the first time.

"Hey, you're Ash Ketchum, that famous Pokemon trainer! My kids love you! Do you think I could get an autograph for them?" the officer said. Paul's jaw dropped to the floor. Even if we didn't get through, my day would be complete just seeing that.

"Uh, sure!" I agreed. Then I got an idea.

"But, only if you let me and my friends through," I added. He furrowed his brow as if deep in thought, then finally nodded slowly.

"Fine," he whispered. "But if I get in trouble, just remember, I have a taser."

We agreed-despite Dawn's cries of terror-and followed the guard through a back alley and into the Gym. He led us right up to the front row.

"These were reserved for a family, but they had an emergency and had to cancel. If anyone asks, just say Joel let you sit here."

I couldn't believe our luck. Not only had we just jumped the line, but we'd snagged front row seats! I signed the autograph like I'd promised.

"Joel?" Another security guard approached us. "That little kid just puked all over the sound equipment."

"Again?" Joel whined. He turned to us. "Thanks again for the autograph, you guys enjoy the show."

He turned reluctantly to the other security guard.

"Man, these guys _gotta _stop bringing their kids to work," Joel complained as he followed the officer out.

We sat down and waited for the show to start. In a few minutes, the lights dimmed and a single spotlight shone on the diving board that was suspended over the pool. Suddenly, the whole audience gasped. I looked around, distraught, as I tried to figure out what everyone was looking at. Paul nudged me, an agitated look on his face. He motioned for me to turn around. I made a sneering face and obeyed.

And then I saw her.

**(A/N: Cue the cheesy romantic background music.)**

I nearly choked.

A young woman stood on the board with her arms extended out. She had long, gorgeous red hair that cascaded over her shoulders. She wore a pale pink seashell bikini top, and a long and tight sea green mermaid tail that elongated her figure and accentuated her every curve. But that didn't even come in comparison with her eyes. They were a clear aqua green, but also, turquoise, and…they were indescribable. She was grinning brightly, her oceanic eyes sparkling as she basked in the warm spotlight.

I couldn't believe it, but I knew without a doubt in my mind that she could only be one person: Misty. My closest friend in the entire universe who had never left my side or stopped encouraging me. I stared in astonishment at this new confident and athletic girl, who looked nothing like she had when I'd last seen her perform. Let's just say….she was _definitely _not scrawny anymore. But if you looked closely, you could tell she hadn't changed one bit. She was the same hot-tempered, caring, and honest redhead I remembered. My Misty.

She jumped, and woke me out of my daze. She did a complicated dive, and landed in the pool with barely a splash. She did a few spins and flips, and then Daisy, Violet, and Lily appeared. Brock watched with googly eyes, but I barely noticed them. I was too busy watching Misty. I never took my eyes off her graceful form, twirling and twisting through the water with spectacular skill. I was mesmerized. What the actual point of the show was, I couldn't tell you. All that mattered was Misty, her dazzling face and sparkling eyes.

The rest of the show passed in a blur, but with much clarity, since I had my eyeballs glued to Misty the whole time. At the end, the Sensational Sisters came up for their individual curtain calls, and then Misty- the best of all. The whole Gym rose to their feet as applause thundered through the whole place.

The crowd slowly began to leave after a couple more minutes, but I insisted on staying until Misty finally exited the room-much to the amusement of Paul.

"Ieeieeee!" a shrill scream pierced through the audience and brought me out of my peaceful daydreams.

Daisy approached us, a smile on her sunny features.

"OMG! I can't believe you're, like, here!" she shrieked.

"Hi, Brock," she greeted the dumbstruck teen cheerily. He waved, dazed.

"Hi, I'm Dawn!" Dawn introduced herself.

"Hey!" Daisy grinned. "Who's this?" she gestured to Paul.

"Oh, that's just Paul," Dawn said, like she was introducing a moldy loaf of bread.

"Ahhhh," Daisy said, raising her eyebrows flirtatiously. "So, is he your boyfriend?"

"No," Paul stated flatly, his voice a little unsturdy.

"Oh," Daisy shrugged. She turned away from Paul with disinterest.

"OMG, Dawn, I, like, love your hair clip!" Daisy squealed. A huge smile spread across Dawn's face, which meant a long, painful conversation about "adorable" hair accessories was in store. I eagerly darted my eyes around the stadium, looking for any sign of red hair-to no avail. Unfortunately, my inspection wasn't discreet enough to go unnoticed by Paul.

"Ah, what have we here?" he teased loudly. "Are you searching for your redheaded mermaid Juliet, Romeo?" he smirked.

"Put a sock in it, Shakespeare," I retorted, and resorted back to Daisy and Dawn's conversation, which was almost _worse_ than my previous one with Paul.

-"Like, I love bows, too! They're really cute with…" Daisy trailed off when she saw me and stopped dead in her tracks. _What? Why is she staring at me like that? _Confused, I whipped my head around to check behind me. There was no one.

"O. M. G." she grinned devilishly. "You've, like, grown up, Ash! You've become _really _handsome," she eyed me up and down, which made me kind of uncomfortable. I made the mistake of looking to _Brock_ for help, because he was glowering at me with a jealous expression.

"Misty will be _soooo _excited you're here! Did you know she still talks about you all the time?" Daisy questioned. She clasped her hands over her heart and sighed dreamily. "Ahhh….young love…so beautiful!" I tried to get rid of the blush that I could feel creeping up my neck.

"We're not….." I choked the words out- "_in love."_

Daisy raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Okay, well just keep telling yourself that. Ooh! Like this one time, Misty-"

"DAISY!" a warm familiar voice rang through the room and made my heart leap. A flash of red appeared and I did a double take. Running towards us was Misty, who had gotten rid of her flashy mermaid outfit and instead settled for light blue short shorts, her famous red suspenders, a faded aqua tee, and her same, old, beat-up red Converse with the lightning bolt up the side. Her bright hair hung loosely around her arms, and I realized she'd let it grow out. This was obviously her everyday outfit, and the fact that she was dressed so naturally and still managed to knock every guy in the room off his feet made her all the more better. She was positively beautiful. And she was _mad. _

"Daisy…" Misty warned. The eldest Waterflower sister looked around innocently, but as she met her sister's eyes she gasped in realization and squealed, her sky blue eyes twinkling.

"Sorry, lil sis, I was just trying to help! You know,"- Misty cut the blonde off and shoved her in the opposite direction. Daisy tripped on her stiletto heel and skipped away, still talking as she went. Misty rolled her aqua green eyes. She faced us for the first time.

"Hi, guys!" she said happily.

"Hey, Misty," Brock said, pulling her into a brotherly hug.

"Wow, you look good," Misty complimented as she pulled away. "So, you find a girlfriend yet?"

Brock looked at his feet and shook his head morbidly.

"Yeah….didn't think so," Misty patted him arm comfortingly.

"Misty, it's so nice to finally meet you in person," Dawn said. Misty turned away from the grieving Brock.

"Likewise," Misty smiled warmly. Misty noticed Paul.

"Oh, is he your boyfriend?" she asked.

"NO!" said 'couple' shouted in unison.

Misty blinked, and turned back to Dawn.

"Well, I've seen your contests on TV, and I'm just _intrigued _by your Piplup. For such a cute little thing, he sure is powerful."

"Oh, thanks! And I've heard _so _much about you," Dawn gushed. "Like, Ash has this cute little lure that you gave him, and he won't let anyone touch it. This one time-"

"Okay, Dawn," I interrupted. I hadn't meant to be rude, but that lure was special to me. Misty looked at me. Her eyes lit up.

"Hey, Ash," she said. My heart leapt in my chest as she hugged me. I wrapped my arms around her warm body and was immediately overcome with the fresh scent of the ocean and sea flowers. I inhaled deeply before I could stop myself.

"Hey, Mist," I said into her silky hair.

"I've missed you," she said barely above a whisper. I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes. Misty finally pulled away somewhat reluctantly, so I blinked the tears out of my eyes and tried to ignore the sudden coldness of my body.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Misty questioned, her voice shaky.

"Well, it's a long story, but we're going to find Zapdos," I explained.

"And Brock wanted to see hot girls dancing around in tiny bikinis, so here we are," Paul summed it up.

"Well, if you guys aren't in a hurry, maybe we could go out and catch up," Misty said, her voice full of hope.

"I….I don't think we can. We're really in a rush," Dawn said. Misty's face fell immediately. I looked to Brock pleadingly. I had just found my best friend who I hadn't seen in years. There was _no _way we were splitting up now.

And then I got the most brilliant idea ever.

"Misty!" I suddenly outbursted. She looked at me questioningly. "Come with us!" I shouted.

"Yeah, why didn't I think of that before?" Brock agreed. "This is perfect!"

"Wait, what are we doing?" Misty said, confused.

"We'll fill you in on the details on the way. We're going on an adventure," Dawn said excitedly. Misty's turquoise eyes filled with a determined look, and I knew she was hooked. Misty was always up for an adventure.

"I'm in," she decided.

"Yessssss!" Dawn screamed. "Finally, another girl in the group!" she said. Her face lit up with an idea.

"I could do your hair! And we could paint our nails, and read magazines, and-"

"Uh, Dawn?" I interjected. "Misty's more of a tomboy, so, maybe that's not the best idea. Last time someone went near her hair with a styling tool, well, let's just say we're never gonna be allowed in _that _hair salon again."

"It's true!" Brock agreed. "They even took our pictures and fingerprints!"

Dawn gasped, her face crestfallen.

"Really?" she said. Misty smirked.

"Well, we'll see," she gave in. Dawn grinned happily.

I smiled to myself. Those two were going to be great friends.

"Well, sorry to break up your little family reunion, but we gotta get going," Paul snapped. I hated to admit it, but he was right.

"Yeah, we should go. Where are your sisters?" I said. Misty led us out of the Gym section of the building and into their living quarters. We walked through the living room, which had white couches, blue walls, a wooden floor, and lots of windows. We entered the kitchen- which was basically the same-very blue and light from all the windows. Daisy, Violet, and Lily lounged in bar stools at the counter.

"Hey guys!" Violet greeted us. "Ya want some orange juice?"

Of course, I quickly obliged and stepped forward, but not before Misty reached her hand out and stopped me.

"Uh, trust me, you don't want some," she muttered under her breath. I shook my head in confusion but decided to take her word for it.

"So, what's up?" Lily questioned. I looked to the others in a panic. We hadn't thought of what we'd tell them. I doubted they'd let Misty come with us if we were like, "Oh, by the way, Misty's gonna come on a dangerous trip with us that'll probably get us killed in the process! Bye!"

Luckily, Paul had an excuse.

"We're going to the annual carrot festival in Hoenn," he stated so forcefully there was no way the triplets would question him.

"Okay, then," Daisy said. We quickly said our goodbyes and hurried for the door before they could change their minds.

"Wait!" we froze. _Busted!_

"Bring me back some carrot cake!" Daisy yelled cheerily. I glanced at Misty with disbelief. _How can you and your sisters be from the same species?_ My eyes questioned. She shrugged, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Okay, sis," Misty assured her. We immediately left the Gym and roamed the streets.

"So, will someone explain to me where we're going?" Misty said impatiently.

"I'll tell her!" Dawn volunteered enthusiastically. While the girls talked, Brock, Paul, and I talked about the fastest way to get to the Power Plant.

"Well, we'll travel north past the bridge, then go west, past Bill's house to the river, and then our Pokemon can take us south to the Power Plant."

We started across the bridge.

"Oohhhhhh," Brock ogled over a group of girls chatting by the railing.

"Brock, you haven't changed one bit," Misty observed with a laugh. But Brock didn't even hear her. He was already rushing over to talk to the girls, gushing about how gorgeous they were.

"….You're eyes are like two beautiful, perfectly cut diamonds, your face, is like two freshly picked roses glowing in the morning sunlight. This flower….doesn't even come close to your beauty," he swooned, reaching into his pocket to pull out a flower. However, all he produced was a little pink cell phone. He gaped in horror as the girls burst into fits of giggles. He looked back at us as if Paul or I were responsible for the abomination.

"H-How did it…." Brock stammered.

He looked at me suspiciously.

"Okay, Ash, just 'cause I accidentally fed your burger to that flock of Starly that one time doesn't mean you can do _this! _He gestured to the cellular device wildly. I threw my hands up.

"Dude, I'm telling you, I didn't do it!" I said. He huffed and looked at the girls, who were still laughing, in defeat.

"Let's go," he said and stomped away.

"And that burger was fantastic!" I yelled before hurrying to catch up with the rest of them.

"What was all that about?" Misty questioned.

"We'll explain later. We'd better call Mew and tell her you've joined the team," Paul said. "Brock, give me your phone." Brock rolled his eyes.

"Gladly." Brock handed it to Paul, who dialed Mew.

"Hello?" Mew's voice came up right away.

"Mew? It's us," Paul said. "We've picked up Misty."

"Misty?" Mew questioned. Paul glanced at me with a devious smirk on his face, which couldn't be good.

"The redhead. Ash's girlfriend."

"Aiii-What?" Was all I could muster. I looked at Misty, who was blushing furiously and already had her hands on her mallet, ready to pull out. I almost felt bad for Paul as I imagined his prude little face being rearranged by Misty's beloved mallet. Ahhhh, lovely mental images.

"Oh, yes, I remember her! Well, tell her I said hi!"

"Alright, Mew," Paul agreed. He turned to Misty, his smile sickeningly sweet.

"Mew says hi."

The blushing redhead narrowed her eyes until they were barely open.

"Yeah, I got that," she snapped.

"So Paul, did you guys have to spend your emergency cash yet?" Mew asked.

"No, I still got mine," Paul said. He narrowed his eyebrows and, just to make sure, reached into his pocket.

"Yep. Still there," He muttered. His eyes widened, his hands still in his pockets as he pulled out a Mew-Phone!

"Impossible!" he muttered. I also reached into my jeans pocket, and sure enough, out came a Mew-Phone!

"How did this happen?" I screamed. "I thought we got rid of these things!"

"Oh, are you guys talking about the Mew-Phones?" Mew questioned. "I forgot to tell you guys. The phones are charmed so that if they get misplaced, they'll eventually reappear in your pocket so you'll never lose them! Isn't it clever?" she said cheerfully.

"Swell," Paul growled before snapping the phone shut. "Just swell."

"Swell?" Dawn teased.

"Yes. Swell. It's a word," Paul defended.

"Which hasn't been used since the '20's," I joined in. Paul rounded on me.

"Oh, I wouldn't even be talking, Ketchum, unless you want Ginger here to hear all the details on what you looked like at her show," he spit dangerously. I was blushing madly now.

"What? What did he look like?" Misty demanded.

"Hmm, I think it was something like this….." Paul barely had time to muster up a face before Brock came back.

"Okay, Paul, Dawn, Misty, Ash, could you stop flirting and hurry it up here?" Brock hissed. Obviously he was still upset over the Mew-Phone fiasco.

"FLIRTING!" all four of us yelled at different pitches.

"He's insane."

"Totally."

"Like I would flirt with _you."_

"Yeah…..wait, HEY!"

We continued to walk through the forest, still keeping our respective distances.

"Stupid…phone..." Brock grumbled. We passed a little park area where several people relaxed with their Pokemon by the water. He looked up and immediately seemed to be entranced by something. I followed his gaze and saw a hazel-eyed brunette with a strong-looking Leafeon.

"Seriously?" I said with disbelief as Brock rushed over to her. After just getting totally stood up by those girls at the bridge, Brock still had to flirt with every girl he saw.

"Ah, my beauty. The stars don't even compare to your-AGHH!" Brock screamed in pain as Misty yanked his ear and began to yank him away with it.

"You're coming with me, womanizer," Misty muttered. I burst out laughing. Paul and Dawn stared at me incredulously, but I couldn't help it. This was just like old times, with Misty. Misty must've gotten why I was laughing, because she joined in. Soon we were all hooting with laughter, even Paul, although I was pretty sure he was laughing _at _us more than _with _us. As we walked towards the sunset, the melodious sounds of laughter ringing through the woods, I forgot all about our troubles. All that mattered was being back on the road with my best friends.

And Paul.

**A/N: Yay! I actually quite like this chapter, and I hope you did, too! Writing about Misty was fun, especially the water show scene. Hehe...Ash's got it _bad, _even if he doesn't realize it yet! Also, I wrote a little Pokeshipping oneshot/songfic for the holidays, so if you want you can check it out. Please R&R and Happy New Year,**

**~Aqua**


	7. Zapdos

**Hi! I hope you enjoy the 7th chapter of Pokemon: The Final Journey!**

**Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own Pokemon. However, I do own all my ideas and this plot. If it is plagiarized, I have all rights to repeatedly whack your head with Misty's mallet.**

_

* * *

Previously..._

_Soon we were all hooting with laughter, even Paul, although I was pretty sure he was laughing _at us _more than _with us. _I forgot about our troubles, because at that moment, all that mattered was being back on the road with all my best friends. And Paul._

* * *

***Misty POV***

I looked up at the fading sunset as we rode our Pokemon towards the Power Plant in comfortable silence. Pink, purple, and orange melted together as the yellow glow of the dimming sun met the land. I smiled to myself. I couldn't help but feel giddy. I was on a daring, adventurous journey with all my best friends. Definitely dangerous, but it sure beat sitting in a Pokemon Gym all day. I'm the kind of person that has to be _doing _something, not just sitting on the sidelines and wishing to join the fun. I'd always thought that I was meant to _do _something. Not just beat countless numbers of newbie trainers at the Gym or even go on a Pokemon journey with Ash. I needed to contribute to something, to change something in the world for the better. I'd dreamed of making my mother proud. And here came Ash and his friends on a quest that they knew was life-threatening, but they took that risk because they knew it had to be done. It was meant to be. And what better way to help the world than by saving it from a tyrant Pokemon gone wrong?

The sun was almost gone now. The sky slowly twisted into a dark purple shade as the sun sank under the horizon.

"It's beautiful," I breathed.

"Yeah," Ash said. I jumped, startled. I turned around to see him riding my Corsola. I met his chocolate-brown gaze and grinned. I still couldn't believe that Ash, the love of my life, was just a few feet away from me. It was like a dream. I was so afraid I'd look back and he'd be gone, and I'd wake up with my sisters screaming at me that there was a challenger at the door. After all my years of longing and yearning, he'd finally come back. Sure, I'd been lonely, but….he was busy. All that mattered was that we were reunited again. Ash had really changed over the years. He'd developed muscles and he was finally taller than me, but his hair was still the same unruly mess it'd been before. He acted differently also, well, at least around me. He had always respected me, but now, it was like he was trying to make a good impression. And believe me, he certainly had made an impression on me.

I was happy to see Brock as well. Of course, he knew about my crush on Ash since the beginning, though I could never figure out how. But, apparently, I'm really easy to read.

I let my eyes wander over to Dawn and Paul. I chuckled to myself as I pondered the odds of ever finding two people who were more different. While Dawn was a bright and innocent goody-goody, Paul was….not. He wasn't a bad person, just not an innocent one. He'd seen and been through too much, and it was haunting him. I had no clue what made him so hateful, but I knew it went beyond just being born without a personality. Ash sure didn't like him. But there was something about the two of them; I just couldn't quite place it. They sort of…balanced each other out. And you know how the old saying goes: opposites attract.

"Ooh! Look! We're here!" Dawn cheered while pointing forward. I had no idea how all that excitement could fit into such a small body. I'd been afraid that we wouldn't really understand each other because we were so different, but we were getting along just perfectly. Maybe that sweet little blunette's optimism was really getting to me.

When the water became shallow enough for us to walk in, we hopped off our Pokemon and waded to the shore.

"Great job, Gyrados," I recalled my Water/Dragon Pokemon back into his Pokeball. Everyone recalled their Pokemon, and Ash returned Corsola to me.

"Woah…." I said as I leaned my head back so I could see the whole building. The Power Plant was a red-and-yellow skyscraper that seemed to touch the stars in the night sky.

"How're we going to find Zapdos in _this_?" Ash whined. I looked at him.

"Guess we'll find out," I said.

Dawn looked deep in thought.

"Well, he'll probably be in the top, right?" she said.

"Why?" Paul asked.

"Well, you know. Zapdos is a bird. Don't you think he'd want to be as close to the sky as possible, since he's a Flying/Electric type?" she explained.

Even I had to agree it was a good hunch.

"That doesn't mean _anything_," Paul snapped.

"Well you just wait and see," Dawn pouted.

"Guys, whenever you're done, we'd like to get started," Brock urged. I nodded. Even though I'd just been informed, this whole Arceus thing was serious. We had no time to be sitting around arguing.

"Fine," the two grumbled.

The Power Plant was, well, exactly what it was called. A power plant. Huge machines covered the majority of the place, buzzing and whirring and connected by volts of electric power. The whole place was just a huge maze. I saw an elevator on the far side of this room. I looked up. The ceiling was glass, so I could clearly see the next floor, and the floors above it.

"We have to get through this maze, to that elevator," Ash said.

"Wait," Paul stopped us. "Look above us. We can clearly see the next maze. If we remember which way to go, it'll be easier when we get there."

He was right. The floor above us was exactly like a top-view maze, or in this case, a bottom-view. I could totally see the right path to take.

"Well, Brock, memorize the correct path," Ash said. I could tell he was annoyed he hadn't come up with the idea. Brock scoffed but agreed to do it. We walked through the maze, and after a few twists, turns, and a whole lot of dead ends, we had made it to the first elevator.

"Well, that wasn't hard at all," Dawn commented as we piled into the elevator.

"It'll get worse," Ash assured her. "After all, this is the lair of a legendary."

When the doors opened, we were faced with a similar picture.

"Ooh," Dawn said shakily as she looked down to the previous floor. Apparently she was not a fan of heights.

"Just don't look down and keep moving," Paul snapped.

"Hey," Brock joked. "At least there's nothing to fall off of this time, so Paul won't have to save you again!"

The looks on Paul and Dawn's faces were quite amusing. They both had reached the color of my hair, and to make it worse Ash and Brock were snickering loudly. I looked at the laughing boys, baffled.

"What happened?" I questioned.

"Oh, we'll explain later," Brock said.

"No you won't," Paul ordered forcefully. Unfortunately, that just made the two laugh more, and make Paul and Dawn even more embarrassed. Ash grinned at me, and gave me a wink that told me he had all intentions of telling me later.

"Well Brock, lead the way," I said, mostly for poor Dawn's sake. We made it through the next four floors with the same routine: Brock would memorize the next path to take and we would follow the previous one the elevator. No hassle.

However, when we reached the sixth floor, there was a new challenge. In different specific spots, plastic tiles were placed on the glass floor. They all had a number between one and five on them.

"What do you think they are?" Dawn said, gesturing to a blue one with a '4' on it.

"They could be traps," I suggested. "We'd better stay away from them."

"Look," Paul gestured to the glass ceiling. "This is the last floor. That has to be where Zapdos is."

He was right. I could see a long and narrow yellow carpet in the center of the room, leading up to some steps.

"We're almost there! Let's keep going!" Ash encouraged.

Brock continued to lead us through the maze as we dodged the tiles.

"Guys, look! I can see the elevator!" Dawn shrieked. We began to run, and were almost there when we heard a loud cracking sound. I froze in my tracks and slowly turned around, as the others did too.

"Oops," Ash said softly. He was standing on a trap!

"ASH!" we all screamed in despair.

"I'm sorry! I just got so excited and I didn't see-" The trap snapped, and he fell through the floor and disappeared. The trap reappeared in the floor, and right in the middle was a big white number '1'.

"Ughhhhh…." We moaned, because we finally understood what the traps did.

"Uh, guys, I think I know what the tile does-" Dawn started uneasily.

"We know."

The traps sent you back to a certain previous floor, depending on what number was on the tile. So, Ash was now back at square one.

"Well, now what?" Brock said nervously.

"Well, I'm certainly not going back down there to get him," I said firmly.

"Agreed," Paul grumbled. "I don't care if he dies!"

"PAUL!" Dawn scolded loudly. He turned to her, his face full of disdain.

"What?" he said, irritated.

"Ash may be dense, but he's also loyal, courageous, and determined. He'd probably even save you if you were in trouble," she said to Paul. I blinked in surprise. Dawn seemed like just a little ditz, but she was really smart. She really understood people.

"I highly doubt that," Paul disagreed.

"I don't," Dawn pushed. "I mean, Misty, you should hear how much Ash talks about you. He really cares about you. And he sure did miss you! He would go on and on about how great you were, how brave, and friendly, and how good of a trainer you were."

"Really?" I breathed. All Ash would ever say to my face was how annoying and violent I was. I'd never known he thought of me that way.

"Totally," she said. "I think it's really good for him that you're back. You seem to keep him in line."

She smirked brightly.

"And you should have seen his face when he saw you at the water show!"

"Oh, yeah!" Paul joined in on the conversation. "His eyes never left your body, the whole entire time."

"He was practically drooling!" Brock called from a few yards away, where he was feeding some of our Pokemon. I blushed.

"He sure does admire you," Dawn smiled. "No wonder you love him so much."

I started to nod, and then realized what she'd just said.

"E-Excuse me?" I choked. Dawn flicked her hand dismissively.

"Oh, don't pretend to deny it! I knew from the second I saw you two together that you've been crushing over him for years!" she said. "I'm an expert on relationships, Misty. I know what I'm talking about."

I blushed harder. The way she said it, it sounded like it was just a silly little crush. And, as much as I tried to deny it, this was _not _just a childhood crush.

"She has! I knew _that _since we were kids!" Brock yelled.

"Thanks _so _much, Brock-o," I growled. Brock made a mock salute.

"Anytime!" he said cheerfully.

"But don't worry, we won't tell Ash," Dawn assured me.

"Yeah, taking advantage of his cluelessness is just too much fun," Paul agreed.

"And, as an expert on relationships, I also know this: He's got quite a big crush on you as well." Dawn said simply.

"And how would you know that?" I challenged. Dawn shrugged.

"Like I said, I know people. I see it, Brock sees it, and _even_ Paul here, who's probably never going to get a date, sees it!" I just had to smile. Dawn sure was one interesting girl. And if she didn't watch it, she'd become the target of Paul's fury.

"You just wait, Misty. That thick skull of Ash's will have to crack sooner or later."

_Hopefully sooner, _I thought.

"Whatever you say, Dawn," I said. But I really did wonder: did Ash really think of me in the way Dawn had described? Had he seriously "drooled" over me, as Brock had said? I had thousands of confusing thoughts running through my head, but they never had a chance to be answered, because at that moment the elevator door opened.

Out came none other than a very ragged Ash, his hair crackling and his clothes and skin scorched.

"What happened?" I asked, worried.

"I landed on a 200 volt generator," Ash croaked.

"Will you be okay?" Dawn questioned.

"Yeah," Ash said. "Pikachu fries me all the time, so I'm used to it. It just kinda-"

His hair began to spark, and a quick volt of electricity shot through his body and made him quiver uncontrollably for a few seconds. He shook his head, as if shaking it off.

"Yeah," he repeated. "It's all good."

"Well, then let's go!" Paul urged.

"Relax, Paul, could you be any more impatient?" Dawn chastised. As the two continued to bicker, I snuck a look at Ash. He rolled his eyes at the two and winked. I winked back.

"Aww, would you look at that?" Brock, who was suddenly right next to us, taunted. I had no doubt that he'd seen us, and after the conversation we'd just had, I didn't really need any more humiliation. Ignoring his amused snickers, I whipped my mallet out of my bag and whacked him right over the head.

That caused him to be quiet, besides the painful grunts he was uttering. Dawn and Paul had also abruptly stopped their quarreling and were now looking at me with quizzical looks.

"Just forget it," I said, and put my mallet back in my red knapsack.

"Yeah," Brock said sarcastically. "Don't mind me. Laying on the floor is just one of my favorite pastimes." Dawn kicked him in the side.

"This is no time to be lazy! Come on!" she hollered. He slowly rose to his feet and lead us through the remaining part of the maze. As we traveled to the final floor in the elevator, it really dawned on us that we had no idea what we were doing.

"How are we going to get a powerful legendary like Zapdos to listen to us?" Dawn said.

"We'll just have to be firm and convincing," Paul said. That didn't really help, but that was all we had time for, because we had arrived at the top floor.

Zapdos' lair was incredible. The walls and floor were totally see-through glass. The floor and walls were adorned with yellow-and-black stained glass lightning bolts in random spots. Starting at the elevator was a yellow carpeted walkway with a thin black border. It went all the way to a couple steps that lead up to a stage-like platform. On the stage there were various statues of Zapdos: Zapdos summoning a massive lightning bolt, Zapdos taking a nap, Zapdos eating a cupcake…..

But the most amazing, and interesting part of Zapdos' lair was what was behind the statues. A gray column of clouds swirled angrily and cracked with power. As I tilted my head back to see the rest of it, I realized there was no roof. It touched the sky, literally. The fortress went directly into the inky night air. Strong gusts of wind flew in and out of holes in the clouds, whistling and sparking with electricity. It was any Electric Pokemon's paradise.

"Look!" Ash whispered, pointing up to a spot in the clouds.

"Ash!" I whisper-yelled. "It's rude to point!" I slapped his arm away.

He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. I looked up at the dark fortress. At first I couldn't see anything, but if I squinted I could faintly see a flash of black and yellow, darting in and out of different holes.

"I'll bet that's Zapdos," I inferred.

"Well, how are we going to get his attention? And I am _not _climbing up there!" Dawn said.

"We yell," said Paul.

"Zapdos!"

"ZAPDOS!"

"ZAPDOS!"

"ZAPPY!"

"….Zappy?"

"…..What? So I gave him a nickname!"

"….."

"…You're so stupid…"

"Could you guys _please _cut it out? This is kind of important, if you hadn't noticed."

"Yeah, can you finish your little love session later?"

"Oh, I wouldn't even be talking if I were you. Do think it's _enjoyable _for us to have to sit here all day and listen to you and-OW! What the hell was that for?"

"Stop being such a baby, I didn't even hit you that hard…"

After what seemed like minutes, it seemed that we'd finally caught Zapdos's attention. A large bird flew out of the clouds and sped towards us with unbelievable speed. As he neared us, I could start to make out a few of Zapdos' features: razor-sharp wings, beady black eyes, and an aura of electricity surrounding his agile figure.

"Humans," he boomed in a deep voice. His mouth wasn't moving, so he must have been using telepathy. Ash cleared his throat.

"Ahem, er, greetings, thy great master of the sky," he said. We all looked at him with incredulous looks.

"WHAT?"

Ash looked at us, disappointed.

"I actually thought it was pretty good….."

"ASH!" Paul hissed. "Situation here!"

Ash looked around frantically.

"The Situation? Where? I've been wanting to get his autograph for _ever_!"

Paul face-palmed in frustration.

"Not the Situation from the Jersey Shore, the situation _right now_!"

Ash was perplexed.

"Zapdos!" Paul whisper-screamed.

"Ohhh…" Ash suddenly remembered. "I was just zoning out, thinking about the Jersey Shore. Oh, by the way, did you happen to see that new episode last week? I would've, but the last Pokémon Center we stayed at didn't have cable-OWW!" Ash yowled in pain as Paul gave him a good smack across the head.

"_FOCUS!" _he growled with such fierceness that I was surprised Ash didn't self-destruct on the spot.

"Right," he muttered. He turned to Zapdos, who was quite amused.

"What brings you humans here?" he questioned with sincere interest.

"We need your help," Paul stated flatly. I scowled at him. Could he be any less enthusiastic?

"Arceus is travelling all around the world, plotting to destroy the world with the legendaries he recruits," I explained. Zapdos was pretty shocked. **(A/N: Haha….do you get it? **_**'Shocked?' **_**…*borrows Misty's mallet and repeatedly whacks her head with it*….You people are no fun.)**

"We need to get to the remaining legendaries before he does, and convince them _not _to join him," Dawn added. Zapdos nodded his spiky head slowly, as if absorbing all the information.

"So what exactly are you asking me?" he said. Ash bravely stepped forward.

"We want you to go to the Tree of Beginning and join the others we've found. Mew's keeping an eye on things back there."

Zapdos' eyebrows shot up.

"So Mew is the one behind all of this," he said thoughtfully. Ash nodded. He thought for a moment, then spoke.

"Our two creators, on opposite sides. It should be interesting to see how this pans out."

"So…do you agree to help us?" Paul questioned.

"Do you know what this means?" Zapdos said, completely ignoring Paul's question. He didn't wait for an answer.

"This means war. Countless lives will be lost. The earth as we know it will turn into an all-out battlefield. All of us legendaries will be put at each other's necks, fighting to the death against our own brothers and sisters." Zapdos said gravely. The room was silent except for the whirring of the clouds.

"We know, Zapdos," I said. All eyes in the room were on me. "We understand how dangerous this is. But it's the only way. Arceus is going to go through with this plan whether we do something about it or not. Don't you think we should at least try to stop him? Think of all the innocent people out there. Everyone, even us, will be destroyed."

Zapdos was quiet for a minute, hopefully thinking over what I'd said.

"What made him so angry in the first place?" Zapdos asked.

"Apparently Arceus had been slowly awakening for a long time. We were just training in a park and our Pokemon got separated from us. We ran into this old garden, and then he just, like, appeared," Dawn explained. "He freaked out on us because the world isn't the way he left it millions of years ago. He's taking it out on us humans, and even more so Mew."

Zapdos scoffed.

"Arceus was always so dramatic," he said. "Just like that time when he refused to let me build an International Cupcake Warehouse….." he muttered.

"So….what do you say?" I said. Zapdos looked around for a minute, before fixing his dark eyes back on me.

"Well, alright."

"YES!" we cheered.

"On one condition," Zapdos stopped us.

Paul groaned in exasperation.

"There had better be cupcakes."

We all let out a sigh of relief.

"We'll make sure to let Mew know," I assured him.

"Well, I'll get in touch with my brothers, Articuno and Moltres, and tell them to meet me there. I'll never go against them in any battle again," he said firmly.

"Oh, Articuno is already taken care of," Brock said, probably with high hopes that for once Team Rocket would do something right. Then he seemed to realize that this was _Team Rocket _we were talking about. "Well, on second thought, I guess it couldn't hurt to call him, just to make sure," he changed his mind. Zapdos nodded in agreement.

"We'll see you soon, Zapdos," Ash said. "As soon as we get all the legendaries we can, we'll join you back at the Tree so we can begin training."

"I'll see you kids later," Zapdos said. "Good luck." He flicked his beak in a good-bye gesture, and then sped away towards the sky in a yellow blur.

We stood quietly for a few seconds, not knowing what to do next.

"Well, we should inform Mew," Brock broke the silence and pulled out his Mew-Phone. We all crowded around the tiny screen as he dialed.

"Hello? Hello?" Mew's surprised face immediately came up.

"Mew?" I said. The screen began to flicker.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I swear, Raquaza, if you're prank calling me again, I'm going to incinerate you at the next family reunion!"

"MEW?" we screamed. The screen refocused, and Mew's enraged face reappeared.

"Oh. It's just you guys," Mew said. "Sorry, I don't get real good reception in this part of the Tree. So did you find Zapdos?"

"Yes we did!" Dawn said excitedly. Mew clapped her paws with joy.

"Oh, perfect! And I just got a call from a couple, er, Jessie and James, I think they were. They managed to recruit Articuno."

I looked at the others, surprised. Maybe we didn't give them as much credit as we should.

"So Zapdos is on his way, along with Moltres," Brock informed her.

"Oh, and he is demanding that there be cupcakes," Ash added.

Mew rolled her bright blue eyes.

"Zapdos and that stupid cupcake fad," she grumbled. "Oh, very well."

"So, where should we go next?" Ash questioned. Mew thought for a second.

"Well, why don't you try going to Ecruteak? I know for a fact that Celebi is there, and she was always more of a Mommy's girl than a Daddy's. She should be pretty easy to persuade," Mew suggested.

"But doesn't Celebi live in some kind of forest?" Ash said.

"Yes, but she's throwing a huge ball this Saturday night, and it's in Ecruteak. If you hurry, I'll bet you could make it."

"A _BALL?" _Dawn squealed. We all groaned in protest.

"Dawn, focus," Paul growled. "It's Wednesday. I think we could make the trip in three days."

"But we'll have to have time to go shopping, and pick out outfits!" Dawn argued.

"Dawn, there's no guarantee that we'll have enough time to do all of that. And plus, we don't have enough money to buy all that stuff." Brock said.

"Oh, well you can't go to a ball without an outfit!" Mew said. "I'll send you guys some money." She snapped her fingers, and a 100 dollar bill immediately appeared in each of our palms. We all looked at Mew with murderous looks. Now we would eventually have to endure a long, painful day of shopping with Dawn. And none of us, not even me, wanted _that_.

"But be careful, you guys. I've been keeping a steady eye on Arceus, and it seems that he's planning to crash the party as well."

"Okay," Paul agreed.

"No pressure," Mew continued, "But Arceus already has the upper hand. He's got Raikou, Suicune, Entei, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, and Palkia. We only have Regice, Registeel, Regirock, Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres."

"No need to worry," Dawn said confidently.

"Yeah, you can count on us!" I said. Mew squinted into the screen.

"Is that Misty there?" she questioned. Ash muttered a "here we go", and Brock, Dawn, and Paul burst out laughing as if they knew what was coming.

"Uh, yeah, it's Misty."

Mew's face lit up, and she let out such a high-pitched squeal it put Dawn's to shame.

"No _way_! Isn't that so cute? Ash's girlfriend came back! See, I knew it! But you guys wouldn't believe me! Ah, don't you just _love _love? It's just so adorable-"

"Okay, bye Mew!" Ash screamed urgently, his face an embarrassing shade of red, as mine probably was as well. He slammed shut the phone and looked around, to see the knowing glances of the rest of the group, except for mine, which was too busy studying my feet.

"What?" he screamed.

"Oh, you know what we're getting at," Paul snapped.

"Can we just go?" I asked impatiently.

The others started to snicker, but luckily I was saved when Dawn's Mew-Phone started to buzz. She flipped it open.

"Hello? Twoips?" the unmistakable voice of Meowth echoed through the sudden emptiness of the room.

"Meowth? Where are you guys?" Dawn said.

"We just landed the balloon in Cerulean City. We would've gotten here sooner, if _James _wouldn't have had to stop and get some hand lotion!"

"Well, my hands were dry, and I'd just ran out of my Cucumber Melon Lotion for Sensitive Skin!" another voice yelled back at him.

"Where are you?" Meowth questioned.

"Well, we're about to leave the Power Plant," she informed him. "Should we meet you at the Cerulean Park?"

"Sure thing. See you in a few hours."

Dawn hung up.

"Well, we should get going. Now….how do we get out of here?" I said, looking up at the ceiling where the fortress met the sky.

"Well, I don't think going out the top is the best approach," Paul said with a wary glance at Dawn, who got a bit paler just thinking about it.

"Hey, I got an idea!" Ash yelled.

We all let out a simultaneous groan.

"What?" Ash said, offended.

"No offense, but most of your ideas suck," Paul stated.

"And usually end up getting us arrested, stuck in a hole, scorched, electrocuted, or stuck on a random snowy island in the middle of the Sinnoh Ocean," Dawn added with a shudder. Ash had a guilty smile on his face, probably remembering all kinds of trouble he'd gotten them into.

"Well, I know my ideas always aren't the most reliable, but just trust me on this one," Ash said, looking at us with a hoping expression. "And that whole island accident was _not _my fault!"

Brock gave him a disbelieving look.

"You spilled your grape juice on the map-"

"Don't tell the story," Ash interrupted. Brock went on anyways.

"We had rented a boat, thinking we could get to our next town faster if we took the sea route." Brock began. "Ash was convinced that this little juice smudge was an island." Ash stared at his feet sheepishly as Paul and I cackled with laughter.

"So we were almost at our next town, and we could've easily docked and have been done with it. But Ash just _had _to check out this new island that was a few hundred miles off the coast. So we ventured out and were pretty close to this 'island', when a storm struck. Coincidently, we crash-landed on an island, but it wasn't the island we'd hoped to find."

"So we were _stranded _on this freezing island in the middle of NOWHERE!" Dawn quipped. "And I had NO hair dryer!"

"Tragedy," Paul muttered under his breath.

"We were stuck in a makeshift igloo composed of _what survived_ of our sleeping bags, and snow. We had little food, and it was so windy our fire kept dying out. We could have _died_," Brock said indignantly.

"But…..we didn't," Ash said with a weak smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Ash, did my several years of travelling with you teach you _anything?_" I scolded him. He looked away shamefully and cleared his throat.

"So….my plan! Why don't we just step on a 'Number 1' tile. That'll take us directly to the first floor," he said, glancing around to see our opinions. I shrugged. It actually wasn't that bad of an idea.

"Okay. We'll try it," Brock decided. We followed Ash to a red '1' trap. We looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" Paul snapped. "You go first."

Ash reluctantly obliged. He stepped on the plastic square, and he was swallowed into the floor within seconds. I watched with fear. I knew he did this stuff all the time, but I still worried about him. He sure had been through his fair share of dangerous experiences. Without me.

One by one Dawn, Paul, and Brock dropped down the hole until it was just me left in the big room. I took one last look at my surroundings, before taking a deep breath. Before I could talk myself out of it, I plunged through the opening. My stomach filled with the thrilling sensation of free-fall, and I wondered vaguely how Dawn could be afraid of heights but have no problem dropping through a couple floors all at once.

My thoughts were clouded by a sudden jerk-I'd hit the ground without even noticing. I looked around, my vision unfocused. I saw a lump of with blue hair-Dawn, and near her a flash of purple stuck out. Probably Paul. I frantically searched for Ash, but was distracted by a strong pain in my ankle. I looked down in surprise. I hadn't noticed it before, but now it was throbbing and quickly turning a blackish-blue color. I gritted my teeth.

_I swear, Ash, if I broke my ankle because of this, you are carrying be _all _the way back to Cerulean, _I thought.

_You would love that, _another part of my mind told me.

"…..Misty? You okay?" a faint, concerned voice broke through my thoughts. I looked up. Blurry images seemed to swim together. I blinked.

"Ash?" I said. He nodded.

"I was kinda worried. Is there something wrong with your ankle?" he gestured to my ankle. I looked down. I hadn't realized I'd been clutching it.

"Oh…yeah. I think I just landed on it funny," I said while rubbing it. He smiled in relief.

"Good. It looks like everyone landed fine. I'll help you up." Ash offered me an extended hand. I took it and he pulled me up swiftly. I looked around. Brock was nursing a minor gash on his arm. I walked up to him, Ash following closely behind.

"Brock, is your arm going to be alright?" I said. He looked at me and nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, it's fine. With some antibiotic and a bandage it'll heal up pretty quickly," he said. He picked up his backpack and stood next to us.

"Hey, we should go check out Dawn and Paul. They've got to be around here somewhere," Ash wondered aloud.

"I saw them when I landed," I said. I led them around a few generators until we were right next to the door leading outside.

"There they are," Brock pointed. In a narrow space directly between two generators, Paul laid on the floor, along with Dawn. Who was laying right on top of him. Brock and Ash burst into gales of laughter, while I worked on getting them out. Dawn was out cold, and under her, Paul was slightly more conscious.

I had to laugh a bit with them. I was almost positive they'd die if they ever saw what they looked like. Apparently, Ash had the same idea running through his head.

I heard a little _click_, like a picture being taken. I looked behind me to see Ash aiming his Mew-Phone at the unconscious pair. He noticed me watching him and showed me the screen.

"This thing is a piece of junk," he said. "But it sure does take a good picture."

I grinned, and turned the phone back to him.

"Hello, FaceBook," he murmured.

"Come on, Ash. Let's just wake them up and get out of here. You too, Brock. If we ever want to get to Ecruteak on time, we're going to have to leave, like, now," I urged him.

I knelt down on the floor and began to shake Dawn lightly.

"Dawn, wake up," I whispered. Under her, Paul began to stir. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

"D-Did I pass out?" he asked.

"Yeah, but you seem okay now. Here, help me wake up Dawn," I ordered. He squinted. I didn't think he noticed that Dawn was on top of him, because he didn't even make an attempt to move.

I sighed. Paul was too tired to move, so I'd have to do it by myself, since Ash and Brock were absolutely no help. I nudged Dawn again. She slowly shook her head.

"Guys, she's coming around!" I yelled, indicating for them to get ready to leave.

Dawn's midnight blue eyes slowly began to open. She wearily looked up at me.

"Misty? What's going on?" she said slowly.

"It's okay, Dawn. You just kinda blacked out after you fell through the floors," I said. Her eyes widened.

"Wow, I really did that?" she asked in awe.

Paul picked up his head.

"Hey, guys, that's a pretty compromising position you got there," Brock chuckled. Dawn and Paul finally seemed to notice where they were at that moment. Their faces were identical expressions of horror as they quickly scrambled to get to their feet, and as far away from the other as possible.

"Alright, everyone, are we ready to go?" I said. They all nodded, Paul and Dawn still visibly blushing. We started for the door, but were stopped by Dawn.

"Hey, guys, what's this?" she asked. She was standing next to another door a couple feet from the exit.

"I don't know. I hadn't noticed it before," Ash said. I walked closer to it to see it.

"What's this?" Paul said, looking at a little piece of paper taped to the wall next to the door.

"Warning: This door is the exit from the elevator from the top floor directly to the bottom. It is strictly an exit and not an entrance. If you are foolish enough to open this door and enter, you will immediately plunge into a tunnel that leads to the depths of the sewer system and your certain death. Thank you." I read out loud. One by one we all turned to look at Ash with maddened expressions.

"There was an _elevator_?" Paul growled fiercely at Ash.

"Wait, so does this mean that we could've just gone down an _elevator _and already have been down here, without all the trouble of _falling  
_?" Dawn questioned.

"Yep." My eyes shot daggers at Ash.

Ash cowered under the steely gaze of all of us.

"It was an honest mistake…."

* * *

The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon when we arrived back at Cerulean City. Exhausted and ragged, we approached Team Rocket's balloon, which was resting calmly in between a few trees in the park. Team Rocket had set up a picnic table and were eating breakfast. They noticed us as soon as we walked up to their makeshift campsite.

"Hey, twoips," Meowth came up to meet us.

"Man, you guys look tired. You should hop in the balloon and get some rest. We'll be ready to fly in a second," Jessie said as she began to pick up the remnants of their breakfast.

***Ash POV***

I eagerly walked into the balloon and was about to crash on the floor, but Paul stopped me. He dragged me over to the corner of the basket.

"What?" I said, baffled. Paul just stared at me with an amused look on his stony face.

"You like Misty," he said simply. I was taken aback.

"N-No I don't!" I said uneasily. I was probably blushing.

He smirked.

"I'm pretty sure you do," he argued.

I looked at him.

"So now you're making fun of me for being straight, when just yesterday you were _sure_ I was gay?" I said accusingly. Paul narrowed his eyes for a moment, as if comprehending the thought.

"Well….when you put it that way...I guess so!" he said cheerily- well, at least for him. I threw up my hands in exasperation.

"You're never going to get off my case, no matter what I do, or who I like," I realized. His dark purple eyes gazed around and he shrugged.

"I guess you're right," he decided.

I scoffed. "Nice chatting with you, Paul. Good talk."

**A/N: Yay! I finally got this chapter done! I apologize for the long wait, I've been so busy with all my school activities and I barely had any time during the week to do any work on this chapter. If this chapter was a bore to you, don't worry, because I have a lot of great stuff planned for next. Like...some Ikarishipping, and also May and Drew finally join the group! I'm excited! Please review and thanks to all who reviewed last time, you make me so happy! 'Till next time (which will hopefully be soon),**

**~Aqua **


	8. May and Drew!

**Hey, everyone! Sorry I was late getting this out, I meant to do it two days ago on my birthday, but I was out of town all day! Enjoy!**

**AguaGoddess does not own Pokemon. **

_Previously…_

"_You're never going to get off my case, no matter what I do, or who I like," I realized._

"_I guess you're right, Ash," he decided._

_I scoffed. "Nice chatting with you, Paul. Good talk."_

***Dawn POV***

I was sprawled out on the floor of the balloon basket in a peaceful slumber, when I was rudely awakened by something jabbing into my side. I wearily looked up to see Paul standing over me, nudging me with his foot. He smirked.

"It's about time you woke up," he said. I sat up reluctantly.

"You could've just shook me," I complained, rubbing my new bruises.

"I tried," Paul said. I blushed.

"Wow, I must have been really asleep," I said sheepishly.

"I guess so," Paul chuckled. He cleared his throat, like he'd just remembered he wasn't supposed to be able to have a civilized conversation with me.

"Well, it's our turn to steer the balloon. That's why I woke you up," he said, going back to his usual monotone. I sighed and got up slowly, following him to the middle of the basket, where the engine was. We stood in silence.

"Paul?"

"What?" He looked at me.

"Why are you so….sad all of the time?" I asked in a small voice, half expecting him to scream at me. But as I stared into his deep violet eyes, I saw a flash of something else. Not anger. Only hurt and remorse. His eyes reminded me of a little cowering puppy dog that wasn't sure of what to do next. Paul shook his head, and his usual blank, cold stare replaced his frightful one.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"You…you just act like there's no good in the world. Nothing to even live for," I replied. He looked at his feet.

"So? What _is_ there to like?" he snapped.

"A lot of things!" I said enthusiastically. "Like, look at that sunrise! It's beautiful!"

He scoffed.

"Yeah, the sun's real pretty. Until it dies out in a couple million years and leaves the earth to disintegrate to nothing."

I threw up my hands in frustration. _We wouldn't even be _alive _in a million years!_

"What?" Paul smirked, bemused by my exasperation.

"You!" I whispered as fiercely as I could without waking the others. "You only look for the negative things in life!"

"And?"

"Well, I just think that if you try to keep a positive outlook on life, you'll be a lot better off. I mean, there must be something that is causing you to feel this way." I replied.

The look on his face told me all I needed to know. The look in his eyes was so painful, so full of anguish and grief, that I almost felt a lump rise in my throat. Touchy subject. So I'd finally gotten through to him.

"Paul," I started slowly. He obviously wasn't willing to talk about it, so I'd have to ease it out of him. "You can tell me about it, I won't judge you. I understand people."

He looked at me, his face full of scorn.

"What would _you_ know? Your life is perfect. Perfect clothes, perfect hair, top-condition Pokemon."

His words struck me dumb.

"Life isn't perfect for me either. I've been through stuff," I said softly, lowering my head. He scoffed, showing me he obviously didn't believe that. But it was true. My father had never really been in the picture, but when I was about four, he came back to live with my mom and me. We thought he'd really changed. But one night he got in a fight with my mom, slapped her, and then went out and got so drunk that he fell into a serious coma and never woke up. My father's death didn't have as much effect on me as my mom, but seeing her so depressed gave me the motivation to be a top coordinator and make her happy again.

I looked up at him. The look on his face was surprisingly sympathetic. I shook my head, as if willing my memories away. I couldn't live in sorrow because of my past, or I'd end up just like Paul.

Paul looked over at the sunset morbidly.

"You'd never understand. No one does," he whispered. He was dangerously close to crying.

It made me feel awful, how vulnerable he was. I'd never seen his like this, and from the way he was acting, I doubted many other people had as well.

"Look, Paul. Please, just talk to me. I wont even say anything if you don't want me to. I'll just listen," I said. He refused to meet my eye. He just gazed at the horizon, with a longing, glazed look in his eyes.

He took a deep breath, and fixed me with a steady expression. He took a deep breath, like he was about to speak. I stared into his eyes expectantly.

"Hey, twerps. Our turn," Jessie's voice broke through the silence. Paul's eyes widened, then he shook his head, like he knew he never could have told me in the first place. Jessie and James appeared from behind Paul. I looked at Paul, and his broken state was completely swept off his face. In its place was the same steely, gruff gaze that Paul always wore.

I could have kicked myself. I was _this_ close, _this close_ to getting a response out of Paul. And then Team Rocket had to come over and ruin it all.

I sighed, disappointed, and went back to my sleeping bag and laid down. I couldn't get back to sleep, though.

I just couldn't stop thinking about Paul. I suddenly felt horrible for all the times I'd scolded him. I was just in shock, altogether. Never in a million years would I have thought that I'd get such a reaction out of Paul. I felt many emotions. Anger, at whoever had done this to Paul. Regret, for all the things I'd said and done to him. And, mostly, I was confused. I was confused about everything. I hadn't noticed how tired I really was, but soon my thoughts turned into swirling blurs and blurs soon turned into dreams…..

**

* * *

*Ash POV***

I awoke with a start. I'd been in a deep sleep when a rough voice woke me up.

"…..twerps. Our turn," was all I heard. I groggily opened my eyes and was immediately blinded by the intense rays of sunlight.

I blinked a couple times, and my eyes finally focused. I looked around me.

Dawn was curled up in her sleeping bag, although it seemed she was just lying there with her eyes closed. A dark lump rested in the corner of the basket: Paul. A couple feet beside him was Brock. I looked to my other side and came face to face with fiery orange hair. Misty. I smiled. She shifted in her sleep, and faced me. A lock of bright hair fell in her face. She'd let it grow out, and it fell loosely around her face and shoulders in sleek waves. She tilted her head a bit, and the sun hit her face. It made her pale skin glow. She looked almost….angelic. She was fascinating. As she twisted around, the sun hit her hair at many different angles and brought out all the shades in her hair. There was a blazing orange, a deep, rich red, and a shimmering gold.

She stirred in her sleep, and slowly opened her eyes. She looked around, and her eyes widened in surprise when she met my gaze. I blushed. I realized how much of a stalker I probably looked like, staring at her in her sleep and all.

"Er, hey, Ash," she said, a little amused.

"Good morning, Mist," I replied. She grinned, and I knew she was happy I'd remembered her old nickname. How could I ever forget?

"Twerps, get up. We've landed in Saffron." Meowth bounded over to us. I stood up, and Misty followed my example.

Paul and Dawn were folding up their sleeping bags. Paul snuck a look at Dawn, who looked up and met his eyes. They both looked away quickly like they'd been zapped. I narrowed my eyes. What was that all about?

I shrugged it off and looked out over the city. The vibrant sun rose out over the horizon and cast a warm glow on all the city buildings. Stores were open and bustling, and the city was full of the lively chatter of people going to work.

We had decided to take the balloon from Cerulean City to Saffron, so we could take the Magnet Train back to Goldenrod City in Johto. Then we'd travel north to Ecruteak.

"Alright, kids. We're landed." James said. I grabbed my backpack and reached into my pocket. Yep, my stupid Mew-Phone was still there. I jumped out of the balloon and Misty, Dawn, Paul, and Brock followed me.

"We're gonna travel by balloon, it'll probably be more safe," Jessie said.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to risk being noticed being caught by the cops, with us being top-secret criminals and all," James added.

"Cause travelling around in a huge infamous Meowth balloon doesn't give away _anything_," Paul muttered.

"Listen, kid, we didn't have to do any of this for you! You could have been left back in Cerulean, for all I care-" Jessie lunged. James quickly yanked her back and covered her mouth.

"We'll see you at the Ecruteak Ball!" James shouted and began to steer the balloon off the ground before Jessie could get any more physical.

Once the Meowth balloon was out of sight, we started for the Magnet Train. We bought our tickets and boarded the train. An hour later, we were back in Johto!

"Wow, I haven't been here in ages!" Misty commented as we walked the streets.

"Really?" Dawn questioned. "I thought with you being a Gym Leader and all, you'd get to go all over the place." Misty chuckled.

"I wish," she told the younger girl. "But the truth is, Dawn, I don't get to go anywhere. I just sit at the Gym all day and wait for challengers to come."

Dawn looked disappointed.

"But," she began, "Don't you have to go to important meeting and fancy dinner parties…or something?" Misty shook her head.

"Nothing. I mean, yes, the Gym Leaders do go to parties and meetings. But unfortunately, my sisters are also the Gym Leaders, so they always do the fun stuff and leave me to do all the work."

"That's terrible!" Dawn exclaimed. Misty shrugged.

"But they get away with it," she said. "But, the important thing is, I'm here with you guys now."

I felt bad for Misty. She'd been cooped up in that stupid Gym all these years, while I was on the road having the time of my life and chasing my dreams. I knew then that I had to make sure this journey was the time of her life, to make up for all the things she'd had to miss because of her sisters.

I knew Misty didn't want to stay at the Gym. Her dream was to be a Water Pokémon Master. She had all of the motivation and talent to go for it, so many would question why she didn't just ditch the Gym and start fresh. But I knew Misty, and I knew she was much too selfless to do that. The Gym was her home, and her parents' home, and she couldn't just let it run into the ground.

We had wandered into the forest of Route 35, and my thoughts were distracted by an odd noise. My head shot up. I looked around.

"Did anyone else here that?" I asked.

"Yeah, I kinda hear something," Misty agreed. Pikachu's ears perked up.

"Do you hear that, buddy?" I asked my best Pokémon friend. He nodded vigorously, his little black eyes alert. We followed the sound. A moment later, we heard it again. Shouts. People's shouts.

"I think we're getting closer!" Brock said.

"What _is _that?" Dawn wondered aloud.

"Your mom," Paul joked. We all glared at him, as if saying 'Be serious!' He looked at his feet.

"Arceus, can't anyone take a joke anymore?" he mumbled. As we got closer, I could clearly make out two oddly familiar voices.

**(A/N: Gee, I wonder who they are…...)**

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Ugh, stop being so annoying! You know I won this Wallace Cup fair and square!"

"Okay, I know this might be a foreign concept to you, but they said we had to SHARE it! So I'll just take this home and put it next to all the other trophies I've won!"

"You are SO conceited! Now give it back, you jerk!"

As we neared the voices, I could make out two teenagers: one boy and one girl. The girl had medium length brown hair tied back into a red bandana. She wore a simple red tank top and dark wash jean shorts with a white belt. She wore red and white ballet flats.

The boy had chartreuse hair, which surprisingly didn't clash with his emerald green eyes. He wore a casual green jacket over a purple t-shirt, and green trousers. As we approached them, I could see a snide smirk on his face. He reeked of confidence. He was standing calmly; clearly amused by the raging girl trying to reach for the trophy he was holding over his head.

"MAY?" we all shouted simultaneously. Said girl whipped her head around, and I recognized her sunny features instantly.

May gasped, and an exuberant smile crossed her face.

"Hi, guys!" she raced over to us. "What are you all doing here?"

"We're going to Ecruteak, for the ball," I replied.

"Iiiiieeeeeeee!" May shrieked and flew over to Dawn and Misty, and totally ignored me, I might add.

"Nice to see you too, May," I said sarcastically.

The boy who she was with was none other than May's old rival, Drew! The teenager came up to us guys.

"Hey Ash, Brock," he greeted us. I nodded in acknowledgement. I hadn't really known Drew that well, seeing as we only ran into him at Hoenn contests and other special occasions. All I knew was that he constantly drove May nuts, although there always had seemed to be a little more to it. Whatever that could be was beyond me.

"So, what are you and May doing here?" I questioned to break the awkward atmosphere.

Drew opened his mouth as if to speak, but was stopped by a shrill scream coming from the girls' direction. He smirked and looked over at them to see what all the fuss was about.

"Misty, your HAIR!" Dawn squealed.

"Yeah, you've let it grow out!" May agreed.

Misty blushed.

"Thanks, guys!"

"Sure, no problem!" Dawn said. "Oh, by the way…."

Dawn lowered her voice down to a whisper and the other two did as well. I didn't think much of it, but then they kept shooting sly glances over at me and giggling. Well, whatever they were talking about, it was making Misty's face as red as May's bandana.

Drew cleared his throat.

"As I was saying. May and I just tied in the Grand Festival, so they said we had to share the trophy," Drew explained, staring lovingly at the solid gold cup with his and May's names etched on it.

"So….." Paul said, Drew's point still unclear.

"She refused to let me keep it, so she's decided to follow me around. It looks like we'll be fighting over it for the rest of our lives." Drew rolled his bright green eyes. "But, at least she doesn't swoon over me like all those stupid fangirls."

"Aww, look who likes May," Paul teased. Drew blushed furiously.

"I do not. She's annoying, and rude, and she disrespects 'the hair'," Drew scoffed, waving his hands around his head in a dramatic flourish. I smirked to myself. He was exactly how I remembered him. Charming and self-centered.

Another shriek came from the girl's area. Paul, Brock and I didn't even blink an eye; we were used to the constant noise the girls would make. However, Drew was still a bit frazzled. He grimaced, and raised a hand to his ear.

"Geez, I think they just shattered my eardrum! It must be hard, putting up with those girls all day."

"You have no idea," Paul agreed.

May, Misty, and Dawn wandered back over to us.

"So why are you guys going to the ball?" May asked. While Misty and Dawn explained, Brock and I discussed other things.

"Should we ask them?" I said, a little doubtful.

"Of course! They're both really good trainers, and let's face it. We need all the help we can get," Brock exclaimed.

"But they'll fight all the time. I don't want to deal with that!" I whined. "We already have enough troubles with Dawn and Paul."

Brock gave me an accusatory look.

"Oh, you can't even be talking," he said. "Have you paid attention to any of you and Misty's conversations lately?"

I hung my head. He did have a point. I turned to May and Drew, who had just been informed of what was going on.

"Hey, do you guys want to travel with us?" I asked.

The girls looked psyched, Drew looked interested enough, and Paul looked, well…Paul. Not that his opinion mattered anyway.

"Sure!" May and Drew said simultaneously.

"Hey!" they shouted in unison, eyeing one another with bitter expressions.

"It was _my _idea!"

"It most certainly was not!"

"Uh, I think you need to get your hearing checked, because I obviously said it first!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"….Anytime you guys are done, we'd like to get going."

"SHUT UP!"

"Yeah, shut up!"

"Hey, _I _just said that!"

"Um, no you didn't."

"YES I DID!"

"Did not!"

"DID TOO!"

"DID NOT!"

We all sweat-dropped anime-style.

"This is going to be a looonnnnnnggggg trip."

* * *

***May POV***

I cannot believe I agreed to travel with Drew. I hate him _so _much, with his ugly green hair that always flows perfectly across his…snide…yet perfectly proportioned face…..and those gorgeous green eyes that light up when he laughs…..and…WAIT A MINUTE! NO NO NO NO! He's rude, and arrogant, and he has _got _to stop flicking his hair so much!

"….May? MAY?" Drew waved his hand in front of my face. "Hellooo? Can you hear me?" he said slowly, like I was some foreign person.

"What?" I snapped.

"Woah, don't freak out, you were just kinda spaced out for a while," Drew countered, throwing his hands up defensively. I laughed.

"I was just thinking."

Drew flipped his fringe.

"Daydreaming about me again, I see." He smirked.

"Why, you self-centered….freak!" I finished lamely, my arms flapping around me in rage. _So what if I _was_ thinking about him? _

"You just think every girl on the planet would just drop ANYTHING to go out with you!" I continued.

"Ah, but May. I don't _think._ I _know,_" he said coolly, whipping a teen's magazine out of nowhere. He pointed to the front page.

The main cover picture was of Drew holding the Wallace Cup. Bright red hearts surrounded him, and he was smiling brightly. To top off the whole cheesy display, a shiny white glint mark was placed in his teeth like on those fancy toothpaste commercials.

I studied the magazine cover with scorn.

"What does this have to-" Drew slapped his hand over my mouth, successfully shutting me up. I blushed. He pointed to the caption next to the picture, which read: 'Drew Hayden: One of the most talented and good-looking coordinators in contest history. See inside for a two-page poster of Drew!'

"Wha-What about me?" I whimpered. "I won that contest as much as you did! How come I don't get a magazine cover and a two-page poster?"

Drew smiled haughtily.

"Because you probably don't have a fan club. You probably don't even have any fans," he said simply.

"Ugh, just give me that!" I ripped the magazine out of Drew's hands and scanned the front cover. A picture of a girl caught my eye. As I got a closer look, I could make out the familiar chocolate brown hair and red contest outfit. It was ME!

"Hey, look, Drew!" I said excitedly. He took the magazine back and looked at it, bored.

"May Maple, a top coordinator. See page 67 for exclusive pictures taken by May's fan club," I read smugly. "What were you saying about 'no fan club'?"

He rolled his eyes and shoved the magazine back in my hands. I'd successfully shut him up.

We kept walking, the rest of the group silent. They were clearly entertained by our squabbling, because no one dared to say a word the whole time.

"Okay, this is _so _photoshopped," I said distastefully as I studied the front cover once again. "There is _no _way your teeth are _that_ white."

Drew flashed a brilliant smile. Damn, they were. I looked away shamefully, unable to think up a good enough comeback. I turned to the rest of the group.

"So, how long until we reach Ecruteak?" I asked.

"We've got about a half and hour to go," Brock said, checking the coordinates on his PokeNav. I nodded and let my eyes wander throughout the group. First I saw Ash. He was playfully teasing Misty, and received a good smack from her new and improved mallet. He hadn't changed much. He was still the same determined and thick-skulled buy he was years ago. Misty had definitely grown up since the last time I'd seen her. She'd become incredibly more confident and comfortable over the years. But on the inside, she was still the same hot-headed teenager who was hopelessly in love with Ash. It was hard to believe that she felt anything but hate towards him by the way she was vigorously whacking him with her mallet. But it was all just an act. If Ash weren't so dense, he would've found out years ago. But he was too oblivious.

I switched over to Dawn and Paul. Dawn was pouting, probably because of something Paul had said. He was smirking proudly, and that was about the biggest facial expression I'd seen out of him since I'd met him. For some reason, Dawn seemed to have some interest in him. I didn't think much about it. It was probably just her over-friendly personality coming into play. I didn't understand how she could put up with him. They were complete opposites.

"Hey, guys, we'll reach Ecruteak in a few minutes," Brock announced, bringing me out of my thoughts.

When we arrived, I was completely astounded. Ecruteak was the biggest city I'd ever seen on my journey, and would probably ever see. Tall office buildings seemed to touch the sky. There were lights everywhere. It was nighttime, but everything was so illuminated that it appeared to be daytime, until you looked up and saw the midnight blue sky.

"Well, the ball is tomorrow. We should go find a hotel to stay in tonight," Drew suggested. We all agreed. We managed to find a hotel that had vacancy and wasn't too pricey. We entered the building and went to the front desk. Once we all paid, we figured out rooms.

"Two people per room. One boy and one girl," the lady said in a thick accent of some sort. We all looked at one another, horrified. _Whose stupid idea is this? Do they _want _us to get laid?_

"Um, lady, are you sure don't mean _two boys _or _two girls _per room?" Paul tried to reason with the lady. She gave him a death glare that would rival one of his own. We all looked at each other helplessly.

Then we all seemed to get the same idea. Although it was pretty low, it would work.

One by one we all turned to Drew expectantly. He just stood there with his signature cocky grin on his face, but then started to realize everyone's eyes were on him. He narrowed his eyes and looked around suspiciously.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" he asked nervously, his emerald eyes shooting back and forth in confusion.

Ash put his hand in Drew's arm in mock comfort.

"It's the only way. And don't worry. It'll be over before you know it," he said.

Then Drew suddenly realized what we were all getting at.

"NOOO!" he shouted, and lunged for the exit. Luckily, Brock and Paul were already there and easily pulled him back.

"Come on, man. There's a line starting behind us," Paul growled.

Drew bowed his head in defeat. In one swift movement, he pulled his green jacket off his shoulders to reveal a tight purple button-down shirt that barely held back his toned muscles. I'll admit, I did sneak a peek.

"You guys owe me. _Big _time." Drew shoved his coat into Brock's hands and looked at the hotel clerk like she was about to sign his death sentence.

"Wait a minute," Paul said and stopped him. He undid the top three buttons on Drew's shirt, much to said teenagers' dismay.

"I feel dirty," Drew mumbled, disgusted. "If I get charged for sexual harassment, you guys are going down with me."

"We'll take that chance," Ash said, his face serious but his eyes dancing with humor.

With a final sigh, Drew sauntered up to the front desk and leaned across the counter. He casually flicked his hair and flashed a smile male models would envy.

"Hey, uh…." He squinted in order to read the lady's nametag. "….Gertrude."

"What a name," Paul muttered under his breath. Ash burst out laughing but was quickly silenced by an elbow in the gut from Misty.

"Do you think…that just this once…you could….pull some strings for us? You know, switch up the rules a bit?" he said in a low voice.

"No," Gertrude said simply.

"Are you sure about that, Gertrude?" he said, and somehow managed to make her terrible name sound lovely. "Maybe we should discuss this over a nice candlelight dinner."

I shook my head. This was horrible. Horribly entertaining.

"I'm married!" Gertrude screamed.

"Really?" was Paul's reply.

"PAUL!" Dawn shrieked, smacking his arm.

"Get to your rooms NOW! Before you find your things on the street!" Gertrude ordered.

"C'mon, guys!" I said forcefully.

"I agree with May," Misty said. "Drew did what he could."

"But this is outrageous!" Paul protested.

"Yeah, for once, I have to agree with Paul!" Dawn said. Gertrude sighed.

"Well, I suppose I could throw in a complimentary hair and makeup kit for your troubles," she said.

"Did you hear that, guys?" Dawn exclaimed, her sour mood completely forgotten. "We get free stuff! Let's go!"

As crazy as the situation was, we just had to laugh at our bubbly little friend.

"Why don't we just take what we can and deal with it?" I said. "How bad can it be?"

* * *

You know, I _really_ should think before I say things.

So, when we reached our rooms, we had to figure out who would room with whom.

Brock volunteered to stay in a room with all of our Pokémon, Misty 'reluctantly' agreed to go with Ash, and Dawn, being the one in need of the biggest closet space, got put with Paul, who had nothing but a little black knapsack.

So guess who I got stuck with?

I was in my room, _our _room, putting my few extra clothes into the dresser, grumbling incoherent things, when Drew walked out of the bathroom. Speaking of the devil.

"Hey, what's the big deal, May?" Drew said, putting his clothes in the other dresser as well.

"Well, I don't know," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "What could be better than sharing a room with the biggest jerk on the planet who will most likely try to murder me in my sleep?"

Drew's face was downcast.

"That's really how you think of me?"

I thought about it for a second.

"No," I said finally. "I mean, you're annoying sometimes, but you're not that bad. I'm just really wiped out. I haven't gotten much sleep since the Festival."

"Me either." Drew nodded his head in understanding. "Well, why don't you just put the rest of your stuff away, have something quick to eat, and go to bed."

"Sounds good," I agreed. I grabbed my brush, comb, shampoo, and conditioner from my pack and entered the bathroom. I was about to set my things on the counter next to the sink, but couldn't because Drew's hair products were covering the whole thing! So much for considerate Drew.

"Um, Drew? Could you clear a little space off for my things on the counter?" I called into the bedroom. Drew walked into the bathroom, an irritated look on his face. My face immediately flushed. He was clad in nothing but pajama boxers, which left his well-built chest hanging out.

"Take a picture, May," Drew said smugly. I blushed harder, and forced myself to look away from the wonderful, er, I mean, hideous, display in front of me.

"Take a picture of what?" I tried to sound innocent, but my voice was too shaky.

He gave me a knowing glance, his deep green eyes boring into mine. I rolled my eyes and took a few shampoo bottles off the counter and placed them on the floor. Drew's reaction was instant.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do you think you're doing with those?" Drew rushed to pick them up off the ground.

"You can't use this whole counter! I need _some _space!" I retaliated.

"Hair like this doesn't just happen, May," Drew fired back, stroking his hands through his lime locks lovingly.

"Ugh, you're so selfish!" I balled my fists, infuriated. "Never mind, just forget it!"

I grabbed my things and stormed into the bedroom. I jumped into bed, ignoring my growling stomach, and curled up. I was asleep in no time.

**

* * *

Paul POV **

_Well, this is sufficiently awkward_, I thought to myself as I flopped down on the crisp white sheets of the hotel bed. Sharing a hotel room with Dawn hadn't really been on my 'To Do' list, but then again, I hadn't planned on any of this. But, I had to admit, this journey had been kind of…..fun. And I hadn't had fun in ages.

I was still confused about what had happened with Dawn this morning on the balloon. It boggled my mind; how she had figured me out that quickly. I liked to think I was good at putting up a barrier, and then Dawn had just waltzed in and shattered it as easy as anything. I'd been trying to avoid her ever since, and then I got put in a room, alone, with her. It was almost humorous how unlucky I was. Or maybe the legendaries just had it in for me.

I threw the covers over me so only my head was sticking out. At that moment, Dawn came into the bedroom, her royal blue hair loose around her shoulders and dressed in a pink tank top and matching pajama shorts. She collapsed on the other bed and sighed tiredly.

"Man, could you hear the others screaming at each other?" she said.

"May and Drew? Or Ash and Misty?" I shuddered just thinking about the ruckus they were causing earlier.

"All of them." She laughed.

"Yeah, I wonder what that was all about," I said.

"Or maybe we don't want to know," Dawn changed her mind. I chuckled.

"Yeah, it'd suck to go into their room to shut them up and find them on the floor, making out."

"PAUL!" Dawn screamed, repulsed.

"Well it could happen!" I defended. "Where do you think all that sexual energy goes?" Dawn laughed nervously.

"Hopefully we'll never have to find out," she said.

We laid in silence, having run out of things to say. I hoped I hadn't made her too uncomfortable with my latest comment. We were actually having a civil conversation, which was more than I could say about the others. I guess I should've known that when two hormonal teenagers are alone in a hotel room, you should not bring up the topic of sex, especially when the other person in the room was clad in only a teeny pink outfit…exposing her petite frame...OH MY ARCEUS! I squeezed my eyes shut, willing those _images _to go away.

"Paul?" Dawn said quietly, twisting over to face me. I grunted and turned over. My heart sped up as I locked eyes with her striking cobalt ones, bringing back all the feelings I had struggled to push away.

"Yes?" I said.

She looked up at the ceiling and bit her lip nervously.

"I'm, er, sorry about this morning. I should've known not to push you."

I gaped at her with incredulity. She hadn't done anything, but try to help me!

"It's alright. I _was _being a little difficult."

She was silent again.

"…..Well, I just want you to know that you can always come to me, okay? I'll listen."

"Okay," I said, though it was mainly to get her off the topic. She could think what she wanted, but if I ever talked to her I knew she could never understand.

"Night, Paul."

"Goodnight, Dawn."

She gasped. I looked at her, but it was too dark to see anything in the hotel room.

"You called me Dawn," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I guess I did," I said in realization. But she was already asleep.

I smiled to myself and rolled over. But a guilty nagging feeling filled my body. I wanted to push it away, but I knew it wouldn't leave me.

This had to stop.

I was becoming too close to Dawn. To all of these people. Too friendly. Too…comfortable.

I couldn't mess up again. And I couldn't let them down, especially Dawn. I couldn't tear apart another family.

But another voice tugged my mind.

_You're a different person than you were,_ it told me. _You've changed. What happened then was scarring, but you learned your lesson. You won't hurt these people. They're becoming your friends, and whether you like it or not, you care for them. Especially Dawn._

I wanted to believe it, but I couldn't. I'd been torn too deep. Dawn was a wonderful girl, and extremely fragile. If I were to be the cause of her tears, I'd never forgive myself.

* * *

***ASH POV***

It had only been three hours since we'd checked into this hotel, and Misty and I had already gone through three pillow fights, two Pepsi chugging contests, and watched two movies together. It was like we were fighting one moment and acting like civilized adults the next. But, no matter what we were doing, we were always best friends. And that's what made us so unique.

Misty was stargazing on the little balcony outside our room, while I was putting my toothbrush away.

I went outside and leaned against the railing next to Misty. Her face was scrunched up in a focused expression, her eyes gleaming as she studied the twinkling stars. She noticed me and smiled, her pale face highlighted by the radiant moonlight.

"Don't you think it's kind of weird, how we've all ended up in this mess one way or another?" I said.

Misty chuckled.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I mean, what are the odds of all of us ending up in the same group, in this freak journey that will most likely get us killed?"

"Pretty slim," I laughed. "But, you know, if we go down, at least it'll be with all our closest friends. And Paul," I added. Misty giggled.

"And Paul," she said. She frowned.

"I don't know what his problem his. He's so…." She trailed off.

"Anti-social? Depressing? A total jerk-face?" I guessed.

Misty shook her head.

"Well, he sure is quiet, but…he's not a jerk. I just can tell."

I furrowed my brow.

"Yeah," I observed. "Dawn seems to notice that as well. I think she knows something we don't."

"Well, if anyone can break the ice with people, it's Dawn. She sure is an interesting girl," Misty said.

We just stood in a comfortable silence, admiring the countless stars in the deep blue sky.

Misty sighed, causing me to look over at her.

She didn't say anything, she just smiled to herself, her vibrant hair gently swaying in the breeze.

"Isn't it funny, how different things are now?" she finally stated. I blinked.

"Like what?" I questioned. She glanced around hesitantly, like this wasn't something she usually talked about.

"I-I don't know. It's just…..we've all changed. And all of us together again…..made me realize….."

"We're never gonna be kids again. We're growing up," I said.

"Exactly!" Misty said. "It's just never going to be the same."

"It'll never be just us again, a few naïve kids on the road, learning and growing and chasing their dreams," I said.

"Those were the days. Going through life without a care in the world, other than for each other and our Pokémon. Now everything's just….complicated," Misty said, a distant look in her water-hued eyes.

"Tell me about it. I mean, I can't even have a private conversation with you anymore, without having the guys harping on me about it," I said with a laugh.

Misty's breath hitched in her throat, and she quickly looked away. I wanted to ask her about it, but decided to drop it. I didn't want to ruin this nice discussion we were having.

"Being a teenager sucks," she commented, her suddenly quiet attitude going back to normal.

"It really does sometimes," I laughed. "But it doesn't have to."

"Huh?" Misty had a baffled expression.

"If you think about it, that's what makes us the perfect team," I explained. "All of us- you, me, Brock, May, Drew, Dawn, and even Paul."

"Even Paul," she repeated.

"We bring out the best in each other. We may be older now, but we'll always remember our childhood. Sometimes we'll even act like we're still ten," I said.

"Paul's definitely changed. He's been a lot more…pleasant to be around," Misty observed.

"Never in a million years would I have ever thought that Paul would be helping us out, and I'd _enjoy _his company," I said. "But, I guess I wouldn't have expected all of _this _to happen, either."

"We've saved the world before," Misty said. "But this is different. The fate of our _universe _is in our hands. And that's a scary thought."

I felt my eyes widen. I hadn't really thought much about what we were doing. I'd done it so many times before. But what Misty said stuck with me. What we were doing was frightening. In fact, it was downright terrifying.

"In the past, we've dealt with all kinds of messed up Pokémon. But this is different. It seems we've come across a truly evil Pokémon," I said.

Misty shook her head vigorously.

"No," she said firmly. "No, I won't believe that."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"I could never believe a Pokémon is evil. Or a human," she said. She paused to think for a minute.

"Do you know what it means to be evil? To be truly evil?" She didn't wait for me to answer.

"If you are evil, you are nothing more than a bloodthirsty, greedy creature. Something that cares for nothing but itself," she answered. "I could never think that of anyone. Even Arceus."

I thought about that for a while. What Misty said surprised me. She refused to think of anyone as evil, when she of all people would be expected to hate _something,_ judging from how she grew up. But she was different. And that was truly astonishing. I didn't even think I could ever be that forgiving and humble.

"When we are born, Ash, we are all innocent." Misty continued. "Everyone is. But then as we grow and learn, that's when we start to take one path or the other. Why do you think Paul is the way he is? He wasn't born this way. He was probably bright and bubbly like any other toddler growing up, but then something happened to him, and now he's like this. And it's not his fault."

I gazed at the stars for a few moments, thinking.

"Why do we have to grow up?" I wondered aloud. Misty scoffed playfully and edged a little closer to me.

"Everyone has to get older sometime or another, Ash. But we don't have to fully grow up. We'll always be those little ten-year-olds at heart. We can't live in the past, but we don't have to forget it. We should remember yesterday and keep living today, wherever that takes us."

**A/N: Well, that was a pretty cheesy ending, but I liked it! I hope you enjoyed the May and Drew parts; I know I did! So, the next chapter is going to be when they go SHOPPING! Brace yourselves! And then the next chapter will be the ball and there'll be a lot of romance and action and drama in that one! Also, please review. I got so many great reviews last time, so thanks to all who reviewed! **

**~AguaGoddess**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Well would you look at that? I'm not dead! 'Cause you all were SO worried...**

**Disclaimer: AguaGoddess does not own Pokemon. **

* * *

Previously...

_"Why do we have to grow up?" I wondered aloud. Misty scoffed playfully and edged a little closer to me._

_"Everyone has to get older sometime or another, Ash. But we don't have to fully grow up. We'll always be those little ten-year-olds at heart. We can't live in the past, but we don't have to forget it. We should remember yesterday and keep living today, wherever that takes us."_

* * *

**May POV**

I was having a nightmare. Well, it really wasn't meant to be scary. Most would describe it as a good dream. But it frightened me nonetheless.

_His emerald eyes were illuminated by the moonlight. Drew slowly tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear, his hand lingering on my neck to cradle my face._

"_I love you," he whispered, and slowly began to move forward, closer… and then closer….and-_

-"MAY?" a strong voice shattered my perfect-I mean, er, disturbing dream. I reluctantly opened my eyes to see none other than Drew leaning over me. _Not _the person I wanted to see right then.

"Umm, good morning?" I said hoarsely. He squinted.

"Why is your face so red?" he asked. Instantly I blushed even more after _that_ remark.

"Uh, I don't know what you are talking about. My face isn't red," I stuttered. Drew crossed his arms over his chest. He was still shirtless, I might add. He really wasn't doing me any favors here.

"Yes it is."

I scowled. He always had to get the last word.

"Well, excuse me for having an enjoyable dream. And what in the name of Arceus are you doing anyway?" I questioned.

"I woke you up so we could have enough time to get ready before we leave," he informed me. He narrowed his eyes. "And what were you dreaming about that was so enjoyable?"

My eyes widened. Maybe I could've left out that last bit. I could simply tell him it was none of his business, but I'd never hear the end of it. I quickly racked my brain for any possible person.

"Um, it was about…er, Brendan!" I blurted out. I cringed with regret as soon as I said it.

Drew's reaction was not what I would've expected, either. His eye twitched, and his eyes filled with….anger?

"You mean that douche bag with the white hair and unfashionable sweat band? Why would you be dreaming about _him_?" he spat.

I winced.

"Brendan is my friend! And he doesn't put me down all the time like _someone else_," I hinted.

Drew cocked his head to the side. "Who?"

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I gotta take a shower."

_Brendan _is_ my friend, _I thought as I gathered my things to take a shower and headed to the bathroom. We had grown up together, being next-door neighbors. He had always been there for me with friendly advice. Unlike _Drew._ So why couldn't I stop thinking about that dream?

When I entered the bathroom, I was taken aback. Drew had made some room for all my things on the counter and placed them right next to his! I heard Drew shuffle in behind me. He grabbed his brush off the counter.

"You moved some of your stuff?" I asked softly.

"Yeah," Drew replied, as if _he _still couldn't believe what he did.

"Well…thanks. That was very thoughtful of you." I was astonished.

Drew shrugged. "Well, I felt bad about last night." He flashed a genuine smile and left the bathroom. I just stood there in shock for a few more minutes. I couldn't believe that Drew had actually listened to me and cared about something more than himself. _Well, maybe he's not _that _bad of a guy, _I thought.

I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard a shrill scream. I swiftly got dressed and hurried out into the hallway. Across the hallway, Dawn ran out of the room and slammed the door, panting.

"Did you just scream-" I started. Dawn nodded, a crazy grin on her fair face.

"Why are you out-"

-"I forgot Paul was still sleeping." She giggled. A big thud echoed from the other side of Dawn's door into the hallway. Dawn let out a squeal and threw herself against the door and grasped the doorknob, despite its violent shakes of protest. However, the person on the other side was obviously a lot stronger than her. The door flew open to reveal a livid Paul clad in pajama boxers. _Only _boxers, much to Dawn's hidden delight, judging from the growing redness of her face.

"Dawn…" Paul growled.

"I-I'm SO sorry!" Dawn cried, her face still a rather noticeable shade of red. "I just remembered something totally important, and I forget you were still sleeping!"

Paul's face softened.

"Fine," he grumbled, and trudged back into their room to sleep.

"So what's so import-" I started, before I was stopped by the door next to my room opening with a bang. Out came a ragged Ash, his hair disheveled. Pikachu bounded out of the room after him.

"What happened?" Ash asked in a hoarse voice.

"Hey, guys!" a cheery voice called from the other end of the hallway. Misty came skipping down the hall, fresh and bright.

"Misty, how are you so…enthusiastic?" I questioned, rubbing my tired eyes.

She rolled her sea blue eyes and laughed. "May, it's already ten o' clock! And I just finished my daily run with my Pokémon. We've been a little out of practice since we left the Gym."

She turned on Ash with an irritated expression. "And _you_ said you were going to run with your Pokémon too!" She playfully smacked his belly with the back of her hand.

"Those abs are going to turn into mush if you stop exercising!"

Ash blushed. "Sorry, Misty, but I'm not going to get up extra early to _run_."

Misty might've grilled him a little longer, but then the door to my room opened.

"What is up with all the noise out here?" Drew sauntered out of our room. "You distracted me from my blow drying. _Not cool._"

"I'm so sorry," Dawn said sarcastically.

"Eh, it's fine." Drew ran his hand through his fluffy green locks. "I'm having a bad hair day anyway."

I squinted and tilted my head to the side. I couldn't find one thing wrong with it. Still looked perfect to me.

"So what's all the ruckus about?" Misty prodded.

"Hehe. Ruckus." Ash began to chuckle under his breath, and was silenced by a quick blow to the stomach, courtesy of Misty's fist.

"Well, I was laying in bed this morning, thinking about the ball tonight, when I remembered something vitally important!" Dawn gushed.

"NURSE JOY! Wait, no! COME BACK!" Brock's voice rang through the place as he sprinted down the hallway. He stopped when he saw us all gathered outside our doors.

"Oh hey, guys. What's up?" he asked.

"Dawn has a big announcement." Ash yawned.

"Right," Dawn continued.

"Well?" I asked impatiently.

Dawn grinned and closed her eyes, pausing for dramatic effect.

"We're going _SHOPPING_!"

A mixture of groans, squeals, and 'shoot me now's echoed down the hallway.

"Do we _have _to?" Ash whined.

"Come on, it'll be fun," I offered.

Trying to find a fancy dress, or any type of clothing for that matter, in less than a day with Dawn didn't exactly make my 'Fun Things To Do' list. But, I knew all of us, even the guys, would rather do a little shopping than face the wrath of Dawn's temper tantrums. Just imagine a PMS-ing Misty with her mallet, finding an empty cookie jar. Times ten. _NOT _good.

Dawn was about ready to burst with excitement, and even Misty looked interested.

"Why do we have to get new clothes? We're going there to talk to Celebi, not to dance," Drew reminded us.

"We still need to blend in," I said.

"And what else are we supposed to do with all this money Mew gave us?" Dawn added.

Misty's fiery head shot up. "She gave you guys MONEY?"

"She gave each of us two hundred bucks!" Brock exclaimed.

That was all Misty needed to hear.

"D-do you think I could, maybe, borrow some of that?" she asked Brock sweetly. He rolled his eyes.

"Sure."

"Hey!" Ash cut in. "I thought you hated shopping!"

Misty smiled and shook her head. "I do, but do you know how long it's been since I got a new outfit?"

"Way to support the guys," Ash grumbled. Misty turned to Dawn and I, ignoring Ash's complaints.

"I saw a huge mall just around the corner when I was running," she said.

"Perfect!" Dawn clapped her hands. "I just have to tell Paul."

We all followed Dawn into her room. The room was identical to Drew's and mine. One side of the room was neat and orderly, which I assumed to be Dawn's. The other side was not so tidy, complete with a messy bed occupied by a sleeping lump.

"PAUL!" Dawn hollered, approaching Paul's bed. She shook the sleeping teenager. Slowly, Paul sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Hn?"

"We just wanted to let you know that we're going to be leaving in about a half an hour to go shopping for outfits for tonight. 'Kay?" Dawn explained cheerfully.

Paul blinked, then collapsed back to the bed in an exhausted heap.

Dawn slowly turned back to us, her cobalt eyes wide and her brow furrowed.

"Okay….so I'll take that as a yes!" She clapped her hands together and skipped out of the room. We all followed her out and went to our respective rooms to get ready.

Even in our rooms, we could hear Dawn's voice in the hallway.

"Piplup, get UP! It's a fashion emergency!"

*Sweatdrop*

* * *

We arrived at the mall at about eleven o' clock. Of course, we were _supposed _to be there by ten, but it took us at least a half an hour to drag Paul out of bed. _Then_ we had to eat breakfast, which always takes a while when you're with Ash and May.

We were standing in the middle of the food court, the rich smell of grilled burgers and garlic-filled calzones wafting through the air. **(I don't know about you, but that's what the mall food court I go to smells like.)**

"Okay, we've got-" Dawn stopped to check her PokeNav, "Three hours! Let's move!"

Brock, Drew, Ash, and Paul headed off to a fancy guy's store, while Dawn, Misty, and I found a formal dress store. Misty bolted to the clearance section, and Dawn floated over to the section with the most extravagant and expensive dresses. I just stood near the entrance, not knowing where to start. I hadn't gotten a new dress in a while.

I approached the nearest dress rack, but before I could start looking, Misty emerged from the back with a dress in her arms.

"Misty, it's perfect!" Dawn was suddenly right next to me. It was cerulean blue in color, and was tight all the way down until it reached right above the hips and flowed out into a graceful skirt that touched the floor. It had a thick one-shoulder strap that was covered in delicate tiger lily flowers and pearls.

"It's great, Misty," I agreed with Dawn. It matched her personality wonderfully.

"And I'm sure Ash will _love _it!" Dawn added, only to get a playful slap on the arm by Misty.

"You really think so?" Misty asked, blushing.

"Definitely. It suits you well," I assured her.

Misty sighed and ran her fingers along the shiny fabric.

"I don't know. I don't think I'll be able to lift my legs enough to kick Ash if he gets out of line," she chuckled.

"I'm sure you'll find a way," Dawn said sarcastically.

"Well….all right!" Misty decided. "I'll get it!" As she rushed up to the check-out counter, I went back to leafing through racks. A couple of minutes later, a shriek echoed through the store.

_Dawn, _I thought to myself with a smirk. I turned around the corner to see Dawn wearing a knee-length dress on her small figure. _How were they finding these so fast?_

The whole dress was black, but it was far from boring. It was a black silk strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. It was tight until below the bust, where it met three tangled white belts and broke into a wide scrunchy skirt. It was _so _Dawn.

"Well, what do you think?" Dawn asked eagerly.

"It's...out there," I said slowly. Dawn pouted.

"You don't like it."

"No, no! I love it! You'll definitely stand out," I said.

Dawn squinted. "I don't know. It just seems like it needs something."

"It's fine, Dawn," I said. Dawn grinned.

"Well, I'll get it!" she exclaimed, and ran over to join Misty at the checkout.

I sighed. Everyone had found a dress but me. I looked at the remaining racks, but nothing seemed just right.

I trudged back up to the counter, about to tell Misty and Dawn that I'd have to look elsewhere. But something caught my eye. I backed up, trying to relocate the material. And then I found what I was looked for: a flash of red fabric. I pushed away the other articles of clothing to find the most beautiful dress I had ever seen.

It was a snowy white spaghetti strap dress that was covered in rich, red roses. Only little flashes of white were visible here and there because there were so many of the beautiful flowers. To tie it all together, there was a thick white belt adorned with a ruby red rose clasp. It would come up right above my knees. I stood there with my mouth hanging open, unaware of how stupid I probably looked. I didn't care. I had found The Dress.

"Hey, there you are, May. We were wondering where you-" I turned around to see Dawn and Misty frozen in their tracks. Their eyes were wide open, focused on the dress in my hands.

I frowned to myself. _They didn't like it._

"I-It's not _that _bad, is it?" I asked in a small voice.

Dawn's eyes bugged out of their sockets. "Bad? Are you kidding me? It's GORGEOUS!"

I exhaled with relief. "You really like it?"

"Totally," Misty said. "Now, let's get out of here and find the guys. I'll bet they're having a fashion _disaster._"

"HURRY!" Dawn screamed, dramatic horror plastered on her sunny features.

Misty and I laughed at our friend's antics as we went up to the cash register.

"I'm so glad I got this dress," I commented a few minutes later as we walked across the hall to the store where the guys were. "I love it, especially the roses."

"Why do you love the roses so much, hmm?" Misty asked. "Could it perhaps be related to a certain green-haired coordinator who always gives you roses?"

I scrunched my nose with distaste. "Please. Roses just happen to be my favorite flowers, that's all."

"Oh-kay," Dawn sang in a teasing tone. "Whatever you say, May."

I huffed in disgust and kept on walking. _Those roses are for Beautifly, anyways, _I thought. _At least that's what Drew always says._

We entered the store Ash, Brock, Drew, and Paul were in to find Drew arguing with a store clerk.

"You've got to be kidding me!" he was shouting. "There is NO way that I'm paying two hundred and seventy dollars for this shirt! And it's not even satin, it's _silk!_" he went on, as if the mix-up of fabrics was such an abomination. I studied the shirt.

"Uh, Drew, how can you even tell the difference? Satin and silk are basically the same thing," I said, baffled.

He turned to me. "Well, you see, silk is much more fine, whereas-"

"Okay. I get it." I cut in. What kind of freak studies fabrics, anyway?

"Umm, what about seventy dollars, sir?" the clerk asked nervously. I studied the shirt with incredulity. It was just a simple forest green button-down dress shirt with cuffed sleeves. It looked like it was worth about twenty-five dollars to me.

Drew narrowed his eyes, as if at a major crossroads.

"Alright, I'll take it," Drew finally decided. He whipped a one-hundred dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to the man. "Keep the change," he said lazily. The employee looked at Drew, jolted, but he went to go ring it up. I scowled at Drew. He was just _so_ arrogant, showing off his wealth like that.

_Hmm….I wonder how that shirt will look on him…..probably great, with his muscles and OH MY GOD! STOP thinking about it! _I mentally scolded myself and forced myself to walk away.

I instead wandered over to Misty and Ash, who were having a heated debate, from the looks of it.

"But Misty! These are good quality jeans! No holes or nothing!" Ash argued persistently.

"Yes, but Ash! This is a FORMAL occasion. Jeans are way too casual!" Misty explained in an exasperated tone. "How about some of these nice slacks?"

Ash let out a snicker. "Slacks?"

Misty was fuming now. "Look, I've spent all this time trying to help you, and this is how you treat me!"

Ash blinked. "You've been here for maybe-" he stopped to check his watch, "Two minutes."

Misty flapped her arms around her in outrage, but then stopped and just inhaled slowly.

"Whatever. Why don't you just..." her aqua eyes scanned the store. "…Check out those tuxedos over there?" she said hopelessly, pointing towards the direction.

Ash shrugged. "Okay."

After he was out of sight, Misty shook her head and brought her hand up to her face, her fingers positioned like a gun.

"I'll do it, too," she said.

"Come on," I laughed, slapping her hand away. "Who's Ash going to dance with at the ball if you shoot yourself first?"

"Watch it," Misty warned. "You're next on my hit list." She raised her 'gun' and pointed it toward my head.

"Let's go wait with the others," I said. "Maybe that'll make Ash move faster."

"Here's hoping," Misty grumbled.

We joined the guys by the door.

"Once Ash has found something to wear, we can go find shoes. Then…I think we'll be done," Dawn announced. Choruses of relieved sighs emitted from the guys, but were stopped by Dawn's hurt glare.

"Whatever." Dawn sniffed the air. "I'm just going to go get Ash. May, Misty, come with me?" She grabbed onto our arms and dragged us away before we could respond. I don't think we had a choice.

We started walking towards the tuxedos, but Dawn threw her hand out in front of Misty and I, motioning us to stop.

"What?" I asked. I looked at her face, but her focus was on something behind me. I whipped my head around, but all I saw was an outrageous white tuxedo jacket on the counter behind the cash register.

Misty caught my eye, and we seemed to read each other's minds.

"Dawn," she began. "That is _outrageous_."

"I know!" Dawn bounced on her feet gleefully. "Outrageously _perfect."_

I had to agree with Misty on this one. "Dawn, you're don't plan to actually _wear _that to the ball, do you?" I tried to reason with her.

"Of course!" she practically shouted. "It'll look _so _nice with the white belt on my dress."

I looked up at the ceiling and groaned. _Maybe we should just give in,_ I thought, _before she disrupts the whole store. _

"And the broad shoulder pads are so in style nowadays," Dawn ranted on.

"If nowadays is the '80's," Misty muttered under her breath.

Dawn spun around on her feet and glared at Misty. "I heard that!" she exclaimed. "And this is exactly what my dress needs! A little personal flair!"

"It's a WHITE tuxedo jacket!" Misty screamed. "How _high_ was the designer when he was creating this?"

"It was in style back then!" Dawn defended herself. "And it's in style now!"

"It's a men's jacket!"

Dawn folded her arms crossly. "Well, I don't care. I could make it work."

"Alright-y." Misty snorted.

"Well, why don't you check out the price? It can't be much, because you've spent most of the money Mew gave you on your dress," I tried to reason with the blunette.

Dawn stuck her nose in the air in a haughty manner. "Well, I'll just see about that!" she said airily and marched up to the checkout counter. Misty and I followed, after sharing a look of amusement at our friend's fashion style.

"Excuse me sir? I'd like to know how much that white jacket is, please," Dawn said. The clerk looked up. He was the same one who'd had to deal with Drew's superstar attitude. As if he hadn't been through enough with the lot of us.

"You mean this old thing? That just got mixed up with the store's last haul-in. We were supposed to get rid of it a couple months ago," the clerk said tossing the jacket on the counter in front of Dawn. Dawn bent down to study the jacket more closely.

"So how much is it?" Misty asked impatiently.

"I don't know," the clerk said, uninterested. "Probably not much."

Dawn let out a loud gasp. "Are you nuts?" she shrieked.

The man flinched.

"Inside voice," Misty reminded her.

Dawn went on. "This is a 1984 Calvin Klein jacket from the original couture collection! Gahh!" she scolded herself. "I knew I recognized it!"

"Dawn!" I outbursted while pulling her aside. "Do you want to be able to afford this, or are you going to be making side payments on this for the next thirty years?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Oh. I'll fix it! No need to worry."

And that was about as reassuring as if she had just informed me she was planning to jump off a cliff. Dawn's ideas…..were pretty crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if we exited this store in handcuffs.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir," Dawn said as she went back to the counter. "I get a little confused sometimes. This is just an old knockoff. Not worth any more than ten bucks."

The clerk eyed Dawn suspiciously. "Then why do you still want it?"

"Well, my friend collects vintage clothes, and clothing brands don't matter to her," Dawn lied flawlessly.

"Alright," said the cashier. "That'll be ten dollars." Dawn handed over a bill.

"Thanks!" she chirped, her new jacket safe in her arms.

We went back to the door, where Drew, Paul, and Brock were impatiently waiting.

"Dawn, what the hell is_ that_?" Drew criticized.

"I hope you're not planning on forcing that on one of us," Paul added.

"No way!" Dawn yelled. "And I'm disappointed in you, Drew. I thought we were the fashionable ones here."

Drew scoffed, rolling his emerald eyes. "Dawn, I-"

"No. Just…don't even talk to me." Dawn waved her arms in a dramatic flourish.

"Whatever," Paul said, bored as always. "Let's just hurry Ash up so we can get out of here."

"Look." Misty gestured to the front desk. "There he is."

"Finally," Brock said. A couple minutes later, Ash joined us with a garment bag in his hands.

"So, what did you buy?" Misty asked him, eyeing the garment bag.

Ash narrowed his eyes at her. "Like I would tell you." He stuck his nose up and left the store, a triumphant smile on his face.

"Let's go," I urged the rest of them.

Soon after, we found a shoe store. Dawn ended up with a pair of black platform stilettos, and Misty got a pair of navy blue strappy sandals. I got a pair of red sling-back platform pumps.

A couple hours later, we arrived back at the hotel and went into our separate rooms. Drew, Ash, Paul, and Brock had gone down to the game room, so I had our hotel room all to myself.

I carefully put my dress and shoes in the closet and hopped on my bed, the room full with a blissful silence. _ Peace and quiet at last, _I thought as I watched the ceiling fan whirr around.

_This ought to be an interesting night._

**A/N: I know. You haven't seen me in a while. Like, months. But, I was VERY busy with my school's dear musical. And now that it is over and I have gone back to having no life, I'll hopefully get back into a regular schedule of updating more frequently. And it took me this long...to give you a rather short chapter that's basically just a filler. I'm ashamed, I really am. BUT, next chapter will hopefully make up for it. It's the long-awaited ball! Lots of action, drama, and of course ROMANCE in this one! I'm excited. Hopefully I'm not the only one. Which brings me to my wonderful reviewers! Thank you sooo much, I'm so excited you like the story! Well, 'till next time!**

**~Aqua(:**


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